Dragon Quest XII: Beyond Gay

[Norfleet]

Asian languages cram higher levels of density into the same same. This is why in Western usernames, you get maybe a short phrase at most in your 20-30 characters, but moonspeakers can cram an entire poem in there.

[Cipher]

Asian languages cram higher levels of density into the same same. This is why in Western usernames, you get maybe a short phrase at most in your 20-30 characters, but moonspeakers can cram an entire poem in there.

I am no expert so please take this with a heavy handful of salt. But, from what I understand, Japanese is also heavily context based. Meaning someone can say: "wakaru?" which depending on the context can mean "do you understand?" or "you know what I mean?" which makes it so one single word has to be translated into a handful of words.

It is the same as "onegai" which directly translates to "please" but because the language is so heavily context specific, it can also mean "please, do this _____". The best example that comes to mind is in an anime where the main characters are facing a demon or something and a girl yells "Onegai!" which gets translated to "take care of this girl" referring to another party member who was left unconscious after taking damage.

There is no way to translate this as only "please!" for Americans. Yes, due to watching what is happening, just the word would suffice but it would feel extremely jarring for us. It has to become "Take care of Jane, please!" at the very least, or if we take some liberty, just "take care of Jane!" but then we are removing the literal meaning of the word spoken and localizing it into something that makes sense to us.

And this is just a tiny bit of dialogue, a throwaway line in the middle of an action set piece. Imagine what needs to happen if we are talking about soliloquies, villain monologues or rousing speeches. And then look at the ****** doing the translations. On a good day this is hard work when it was done by greats like Ted Woolsey. The ****** doing it now don't even care but even if they did, I don't think they have the sapience to even attempt to do the source material justice.

My humble opinion, as always.

[Norfleet]

And then, of course, we have amusing quirks like Backstroke of the West, in which we learn that apparently Chinese has no say to scream "NOOOOOO!", and we get "DO NOT WANT!".

[Lancaster]

Dragon Warrior Intro

I'll never understand why they can't work around the classics instead of working the classics around them.

[J1M]

Asian languages cram higher levels of density into the same same. This is why in Western usernames, you get maybe a short phrase at most in your 20-30 characters, but moonspeakers can cram an entire poem in there.

I am no expert so please take this with a heavy handful of salt. But, from what I understand, Japanese is also heavily context based. Meaning someone can say: "wakaru?" which depending on the context can mean "do you understand?" or "you know what I mean?" which makes it so one single word has to be translated into a handful of words.

It is the same as "onegai" which directly translates to "please" but because the language is so heavily context specific, it can also mean "please, do this _____". The best example that comes to mind is in an anime where the main characters are facing a demon or something and a girl yells "Onegai!" which gets translated to "take care of this girl" referring to another party member who was left unconscious after taking damage.

There is no way to translate this as only "please!" for Americans. Yes, due to watching what is happening, just the word would suffice but it would feel extremely jarring for us. It has to become "Take care of Jane, please!" at the very least, or if we take some liberty, just "take care of Jane!" but then we are removing the literal meaning of the word spoken and localizing it into something that makes sense to us.

And this is just a tiny bit of dialogue, a throwaway line in the middle of an action set piece. Imagine what needs to happen if we are talking about soliloquies, villain monologues or rousing speeches. And then look at the ****** doing the translations. On a good day this is hard work when it was done by greats like Ted Woolsey. The ****** doing it now don't even care but even if they did, I don't think they have the sapience to even attempt to do the source material justice.

My humble opinion, as always.

When people say this I wonder if they have ever had a friend or watched a movie that wasn't part of the Marvel cinematic universe. You really think Americans can't infer larger context from a single word response?

[Tangerine]

Asian languages cram higher levels of density into the same same. This is why in Western usernames, you get maybe a short phrase at most in your 20-30 characters, but moonspeakers can cram an entire poem in there.

I am no expert so please take this with a heavy handful of salt. But, from what I understand, Japanese is also heavily context based. Meaning someone can say: "wakaru?" which depending on the context can mean "do you understand?" or "you know what I mean?" which makes it so one single word has to be translated into a handful of words.

It is the same as "onegai" which directly translates to "please" but because the language is so heavily context specific, it can also mean "please, do this _____". The best example that comes to mind is in an anime where the main characters are facing a demon or something and a girl yells "Onegai!" which gets translated to "take care of this girl" referring to another party member who was left unconscious after taking damage.

There is no way to translate this as only "please!" for Americans. Yes, due to watching what is happening, just the word would suffice but it would feel extremely jarring for us. It has to become "Take care of Jane, please!" at the very least, or if we take some liberty, just "take care of Jane!" but then we are removing the literal meaning of the word spoken and localizing it into something that makes sense to us.

And this is just a tiny bit of dialogue, a throwaway line in the middle of an action set piece. Imagine what needs to happen if we are talking about soliloquies, villain monologues or rousing speeches. And then look at the ****** doing the translations. On a good day this is hard work when it was done by greats like Ted Woolsey. The ****** doing it now don't even care but even if they did, I don't think they have the sapience to even attempt to do the source material justice.

My humble opinion, as always.

When people say this I wonder if they have ever had a friend or watched a movie that wasn't part of the Marvel cinematic universe. You really think Americans can't infer larger context from a single word response?

Asians are magic.

[Bertram_Tung]

I am no expert so please take this with a heavy handful of salt. But, from what I understand, Japanese is also heavily context based. Meaning someone can say: "wakaru?" which depending on the context can mean "do you understand?" or "you know what I mean?" which makes it so one single word has to be translated into a handful of words.

It is the same as "onegai" which directly translates to "please" but because the language is so heavily context specific, it can also mean "please, do this _____". The best example that comes to mind is in an anime where the main characters are facing a demon or something and a girl yells "Onegai!" which gets translated to "take care of this girl" referring to another party member who was left unconscious after taking damage.

There is no way to translate this as only "please!" for Americans. Yes, due to watching what is happening, just the word would suffice but it would feel extremely jarring for us. It has to become "Take care of Jane, please!" at the very least, or if we take some liberty, just "take care of Jane!" but then we are removing the literal meaning of the word spoken and localizing it into something that makes sense to us.

And this is just a tiny bit of dialogue, a throwaway line in the middle of an action set piece. Imagine what needs to happen if we are talking about soliloquies, villain monologues or rousing speeches. And then look at the ****** doing the translations. On a good day this is hard work when it was done by greats like Ted Woolsey. The ****** doing it now don't even care but even if they did, I don't think they have the sapience to even attempt to do the source material justice.

My humble opinion, as always.

When people say this I wonder if they have ever had a friend or watched a movie that wasn't part of the Marvel cinematic universe. You really think Americans can't infer larger context from a single word response?

Asians are magic.

No, just the japs. Nuclear radiation gives magic powers. I read it in a comic book once.

[Trickster]

The protagonist's design is terrible.

It was going to be M-rated before, wasn't it?

All that was said that it would be darker, not necessarily rated M. You can have a heavier feel without going M.

They unapologetically gave him that yee-yee *** killmorgen haircut and Ukrainian zhovto-blakytni sharovary. Ahaha, what absolute dogshit.

[SoLong]

the whole update where they also revealed Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World and it will have TWO women protagonist, no male leads... of course, what else can we expect from Squeer Eunuchs at this point?

I admit I was confused and irritated by this as well. Not mainly by the fact that it was two women, but which two. Both are canon DQ characters, but one (Bianca) is the canon childhood friend of the hero of DQ5. You know, the guy who tamed a sabrecat? This opportunity was staring them in the face and they still missed it by a country mile, somehow.

As for DQXII, meh. Not a fan of the main character's look, even though it looks very much in line with Toriyama's design principles. It's just that this looks a bit off for a main character design.

I guess I'll wait and see if the rest of the game redeems the questionable look.

[Cipher]

Asian languages cram higher levels of density into the same same. This is why in Western usernames, you get maybe a short phrase at most in your 20-30 characters, but moonspeakers can cram an entire poem in there.

I am no expert so please take this with a heavy handful of salt. But, from what I understand, Japanese is also heavily context based. Meaning someone can say: "wakaru?" which depending on the context can mean "do you understand?" or "you know what I mean?" which makes it so one single word has to be translated into a handful of words.

It is the same as "onegai" which directly translates to "please" but because the language is so heavily context specific, it can also mean "please, do this _____". The best example that comes to mind is in an anime where the main characters are facing a demon or something and a girl yells "Onegai!" which gets translated to "take care of this girl" referring to another party member who was left unconscious after taking damage.

There is no way to translate this as only "please!" for Americans. Yes, due to watching what is happening, just the word would suffice but it would feel extremely jarring for us. It has to become "Take care of Jane, please!" at the very least, or if we take some liberty, just "take care of Jane!" but then we are removing the literal meaning of the word spoken and localizing it into something that makes sense to us.

And this is just a tiny bit of dialogue, a throwaway line in the middle of an action set piece. Imagine what needs to happen if we are talking about soliloquies, villain monologues or rousing speeches. And then look at the ****** doing the translations. On a good day this is hard work when it was done by greats like Ted Woolsey. The ****** doing it now don't even care but even if they did, I don't think they have the sapience to even attempt to do the source material justice.

My humble opinion, as always.

When people say this I wonder if they have ever had a friend or watched a movie that wasn't part of the Marvel cinematic universe. You really think Americans can't infer larger context from a single word response?

I am saying that it is not done. If the main character is fighting a demon, the female main character see's one of the party members down and tells the 4th party member just "please!" its not something done. If you have an example, please help me with it.

In movies and animation, this would be at the very least "take care of Jane!" or at a minimum "Keep her safe!" or something to that effect. In this same situation, no character would just say "Please!" and leave to join the MC in fighting the demon.

And I am not saying this never happens. I am saying the most common version of this interaction in English would go as I describe and not with just a look and a "please!".

[Stack of Turtles]

I am no expert so please take this with a heavy handful of salt. But, from what I understand, Japanese is also heavily context based. Meaning someone can say: "wakaru?" which depending on the context can mean "do you understand?" or "you know what I mean?" which makes it so one single word has to be translated into a handful of words.

It is the same as "onegai" which directly translates to "please" but because the language is so heavily context specific, it can also mean "please, do this _____". The best example that comes to mind is in an anime where the main characters are facing a demon or something and a girl yells "Onegai!" which gets translated to "take care of this girl" referring to another party member who was left unconscious after taking damage.

There is no way to translate this as only "please!" for Americans. Yes, due to watching what is happening, just the word would suffice but it would feel extremely jarring for us. It has to become "Take care of Jane, please!" at the very least, or if we take some liberty, just "take care of Jane!" but then we are removing the literal meaning of the word spoken and localizing it into something that makes sense to us.

And this is just a tiny bit of dialogue, a throwaway line in the middle of an action set piece. Imagine what needs to happen if we are talking about soliloquies, villain monologues or rousing speeches. And then look at the ****** doing the translations. On a good day this is hard work when it was done by greats like Ted Woolsey. The ****** doing it now don't even care but even if they did, I don't think they have the sapience to even attempt to do the source material justice.

My humble opinion, as always.

When people say this I wonder if they have ever had a friend or watched a movie that wasn't part of the Marvel cinematic universe. You really think Americans can't infer larger context from a single word response?

I am saying that it is not done. If the main character is fighting a demon, the female main character see's one of the party members down and tells the 4th party member just "please!" its not something done. If you have an example, please help me with it.

In movies and animation, this would be at the very least "take care of Jane!" or at a minimum "Keep her safe!" or something to that effect. In this same situation, no character would just say "Please!" and leave to join the MC in fighting the demon.

And I am not saying this never happens. I am saying the most common version of this interaction in English would go as I describe and not with just a look and a "please!".

No, in English it would be completely normal to point or gesture at a downed ally and say something like "please" or "hurry" and expect your listener to know what you mean. There's no time for a dissertation. In fact you may even just elbow the person and point without saying a word.

[Cipher]

When people say this I wonder if they have ever had a friend or watched a movie that wasn't part of the Marvel cinematic universe. You really think Americans can't infer larger context from a single word response?

I am saying that it is not done. If the main character is fighting a demon, the female main character see's one of the party members down and tells the 4th party member just "please!" its not something done. If you have an example, please help me with it.

In movies and animation, this would be at the very least "take care of Jane!" or at a minimum "Keep her safe!" or something to that effect. In this same situation, no character would just say "Please!" and leave to join the MC in fighting the demon.

And I am not saying this never happens. I am saying the most common version of this interaction in English would go as I describe and not with just a look and a "please!".

No, in English it would be completely normal to point or gesture at a downed ally and say something like "please" or "hurry" and expect your listener to know what you mean. There's no time for a dissertation. In fact you may even just elbow the person and point without saying a word.

See, there is no pointing. Female main character (let's call her Alice) just looks at 4th dude (let's call him Joe) and yells "Onegai!" and then runs off to help the MC.

No pointing, nothing. I watched it on fansubs, so the fansubs translated it to "Joe, please take care of Jane!" I think it could have been reduced to just "take care of her!" but do you really see that in American media? Just a look, no pointing, no hand motions, no body language other than a look, a single word and then Alice is off to help Bob.

In anime, stuff like this happens all the time. "Tanomu!" which could roughly be translated in a context like this as "I am counting on you!" or "Makasero!" which can be roughly translated to "leave it to me!" or maybe "I got this!"

One word becomes a few, to a handful of words. Are you really going to tell me in American media you get stuff like this? One retainer just answers "Yup!" to his Lord when his Lord tasks him to hold this hill? Remember, its one single word. What would "Makasero" become in that context, if you could only use one word?

In this example, Joe could easily just reply with a nod, but if he says something, it could just be " makasero!". How would you do the same interaction with just one word from Alice and one word from Joe?

And I am not saying that every single time Japanese speak/write, they say much more with less words. I am saying translation/localization is not as clear cut, because the language is so heavily context dependent.

Now, something that anime does a lot and is terrible for pacing, is giving you a scene of something happening, like Luke finding out Darth Vader is his father, and then imagine when he goes back to the MIllenium Falcon, Leia asks Luke what happened and if he is alright, and Luke looks taken aback for a moment and then he gets a flashback of the exact same moment of the reveal, the moment we just saw minutes ,if not seconds ago, before revealing it to Leia. Stuff like this happens all the time. My assumption is because anime in general is geared to 13 year old boys so the writers are worried they won't understand subtext without spelling it out. Honestly, it really sucks. I say this to let it be known that I am not just defending anime because I am a fanboy, but in the case of the translation/localization I do believe the work is not as easy as one may think at first glance.

[rusty_shackleford]

like Luke finding out Darth Vader is his father, and then imagine when he goes back to the MIllenium Falcon, Leia asks Luke what happened and if he is alright, and Luke looks taken aback for a moment and then he gets a flashback of the exact same moment of the reveal, the moment we just saw minutes ,if not seconds ago, before revealing it to Leia. Stuff like this happens all the time. My assumption is because anime in general is geared to 13 year old boys so the writers are worried they won't understand subtext without spelling it out. Honestly, it really sucks.

496094349_2524378351240165_5266415249951085448_n.jpg

[Cipher]

like Luke finding out Darth Vader is his father, and then imagine when he goes back to the MIllenium Falcon, Leia asks Luke what happened and if he is alright, and Luke looks taken aback for a moment and then he gets a flashback of the exact same moment of the reveal, the moment we just saw minutes ,if not seconds ago, before revealing it to Leia. Stuff like this happens all the time. My assumption is because anime in general is geared to 13 year old boys so the writers are worried they won't understand subtext without spelling it out. Honestly, it really sucks.

496094349_2524378351240165_5266415249951085448_n.jpg

Yes and there's a reason why the OT is so beloved. That "movie for 12 year old kids" also had the charred corpses of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru and the severed arm of the pig-nosed man in the cantina as well as Han shooting first.

[Sinfield]

I am saying that it is not done. If the main character is fighting a demon, the female main character see's one of the party members down and tells the 4th party member just "please!" its not something done. If you have an example, please help me with it.

In movies and animation, this would be at the very least "take care of Jane!" or at a minimum "Keep her safe!" or something to that effect. In this same situation, no character would just say "Please!" and leave to join the MC in fighting the demon.

And I am not saying this never happens. I am saying the most common version of this interaction in English would go as I describe and not with just a look and a "please!".

No, in English it would be completely normal to point or gesture at a downed ally and say something like "please" or "hurry" and expect your listener to know what you mean. There's no time for a dissertation. In fact you may even just elbow the person and point without saying a word.

See, there is no pointing. Female main character (let's call her Alice) just looks at 4th dude (let's call him Joe) and yells "Onegai!" and then runs off to help the MC.

No pointing, nothing. I watched it on fansubs, so the fansubs translated it to "Joe, please take care of Jane!" I think it could have been reduced to just "take care of her!" but do you really see that in American media? Just a look, no pointing, no hand motions, no body language other than a look, a single word and then Alice is off to help Bob.

In anime, stuff like this happens all the time. "Tanomu!" which could roughly be translated in a context like this as "I am counting on you!" or "Makasero!" which can be roughly translated to "leave it to me!" or maybe "I got this!"

One word becomes a few, to a handful of words. Are you really going to tell me in American media you get stuff like this? One retainer just answers "Yup!" to his Lord when his Lord tasks him to hold this hill? Remember, its one single word. What would "Makasero" become in that context, if you could only use one word?

In this example, Joe could easily just reply with a nod, but if he says something, it could just be " makasero!". How would you do the same interaction with just one word from Alice and one word from Joe?

And I am not saying that every single time Japanese speak/write, they say much more with less words. I am saying translation/localization is not as clear cut, because the language is so heavily context dependent.

Now, something that anime does a lot and is terrible for pacing, is giving you a scene of something happening, like Luke finding out Darth Vader is his father, and then imagine when he goes back to the MIllenium Falcon, Leia asks Luke what happened and if he is alright, and Luke looks taken aback for a moment and then he gets a flashback of the exact same moment of the reveal, the moment we just saw minutes ,if not seconds ago, before revealing it to Leia. Stuff like this happens all the time. My assumption is because anime in general is geared to 13 year old boys so the writers are worried they won't understand subtext without spelling it out. Honestly, it really sucks. I say this to let it be known that I am not just defending anime because I am a fanboy, but in the case of the translation/localization I do believe the work is not as easy as one may think at first glance.

Maybe this is insane but I'm reading this and I'm thinking- What if you just didn't translate it? What if it was literal? Just leave the viewer to figure out just saying "Please!" means "Please take care of her!" from context.
At this point I my views on jp translation are getting more extreme, and soon I'm going to metamorphose into the insane literal translation demanding man localizers think other people are.

[Stack of Turtles]

No pointing, nothing. I watched it on fansubs, so the fansubs translated it to "Joe, please take care of Jane!" I think it could have been reduced to just "take care of her!" but do you really see that in American media? Just a look, no pointing, no hand motions, no body language other than a look, a single word and then Alice is off to help Bob.

If the context is clear, you could say as little as "Go!" in English and be understood, yes.

One word becomes a few, to a handful of words. Are you really going to tell me in American media you get stuff like this? One retainer just answers "Yup!" to his Lord when his Lord tasks him to hold this hill? Remember, its one single word. What would "Makasero" become in that context, if you could only use one word?

Makasero literally means "entrust". English doesn't drop objects very much, but "trust me" is still fewer syllables/sounds overall. The concept of a "single word" becomes vague with agglutinative languages like Japanese, anyway.

[Cipher]

No, in English it would be completely normal to point or gesture at a downed ally and say something like "please" or "hurry" and expect your listener to know what you mean. There's no time for a dissertation. In fact you may even just elbow the person and point without saying a word.

See, there is no pointing. Female main character (let's call her Alice) just looks at 4th dude (let's call him Joe) and yells "Onegai!" and then runs off to help the MC.

No pointing, nothing. I watched it on fansubs, so the fansubs translated it to "Joe, please take care of Jane!" I think it could have been reduced to just "take care of her!" but do you really see that in American media? Just a look, no pointing, no hand motions, no body language other than a look, a single word and then Alice is off to help Bob.

In anime, stuff like this happens all the time. "Tanomu!" which could roughly be translated in a context like this as "I am counting on you!" or "Makasero!" which can be roughly translated to "leave it to me!" or maybe "I got this!"

One word becomes a few, to a handful of words. Are you really going to tell me in American media you get stuff like this? One retainer just answers "Yup!" to his Lord when his Lord tasks him to hold this hill? Remember, its one single word. What would "Makasero" become in that context, if you could only use one word?

In this example, Joe could easily just reply with a nod, but if he says something, it could just be " makasero!". How would you do the same interaction with just one word from Alice and one word from Joe?

And I am not saying that every single time Japanese speak/write, they say much more with less words. I am saying translation/localization is not as clear cut, because the language is so heavily context dependent.

Now, something that anime does a lot and is terrible for pacing, is giving you a scene of something happening, like Luke finding out Darth Vader is his father, and then imagine when he goes back to the MIllenium Falcon, Leia asks Luke what happened and if he is alright, and Luke looks taken aback for a moment and then he gets a flashback of the exact same moment of the reveal, the moment we just saw minutes ,if not seconds ago, before revealing it to Leia. Stuff like this happens all the time. My assumption is because anime in general is geared to 13 year old boys so the writers are worried they won't understand subtext without spelling it out. Honestly, it really sucks. I say this to let it be known that I am not just defending anime because I am a fanboy, but in the case of the translation/localization I do believe the work is not as easy as one may think at first glance.

Maybe this is insane but I'm reading this and I'm thinking- What if you just didn't translate it? What if it was literal? Just leave the viewer to figure out just saying "Please!" means "Please take care of her!" from context.
At this point I my views on jp translation are getting more extreme, and soon I'm going to metamorphose into the insane literal translation demanding man localizers think other people are.

If you do this, I believe a lot of dialogue will feel stiff and wooden. Of course, I'll rather have that instead of the ****** running the Asylum and adding tmblr writing.

And to be fair, I said on my first post that I believe if you are paying attention, it would be easy to understand the meaning of the interaction. I am just saying that, I don't remember the last time I saw an animated series that did something like that. In my experience, the interaction would go "take care of her!" or something to that effect. Not just a look and a single word.

Granted, I have not seen American animation since the "bean mouth" SoCal Arts style took over so maybe I am wrong and it happens all the time. And, once again, this is just my humble opinion and I am not a localizer/translator and my knowledge of Japanese is extremely limited.

[Cipher]

No pointing, nothing. I watched it on fansubs, so the fansubs translated it to "Joe, please take care of Jane!" I think it could have been reduced to just "take care of her!" but do you really see that in American media? Just a look, no pointing, no hand motions, no body language other than a look, a single word and then Alice is off to help Bob.

If the context is clear, you could say as little as "Go!" in English and be understood, yes.

One word becomes a few, to a handful of words. Are you really going to tell me in American media you get stuff like this? One retainer just answers "Yup!" to his Lord when his Lord tasks him to hold this hill? Remember, its one single word. What would "Makasero" become in that context, if you could only use one word?

Makasero literally means "entrust". English doesn't drop objects very much, but "trust me" is still fewer syllables/sounds overall. The concept of a "single word" becomes vague with agglutinative languages like Japanese, anyway.

I agree. But, in something like Unicorn Overlord, a retainer will just reply "makasero" to his Lord, the main character. Whereas in English, I have a very hard time accepting the same retainer would just say "trust me!". At the very least it would be "You can trust me, my Lord!". Maybe I am wrong here. Would an old Knight reply to his Liege Lord after given a command with just "trust me!"?

I don't know. Maybe they are wrong. Maybe they don't understand the relationship between liege and vassal. But, it is 100% acceptable in that game and in anime sometimes they even use Engrish and say: "Yessu, mai Rodo!" which is "Yes, milord!"

And you can point and say "aha! that's a two word reply that is 100% appropriate!" but that's not really using the meaning of "makasero". It's keeping the spirit of the word and not the literal translation. And my argument here is that in most cases, that is required for dialogue to "feel right" whereas a literal translation would "feel off" in the same way it feels off for a vassal to just say "trust me!" to his Liege Lord without any sort of deference.

[Stack of Turtles]

No pointing, nothing. I watched it on fansubs, so the fansubs translated it to "Joe, please take care of Jane!" I think it could have been reduced to just "take care of her!" but do you really see that in American media? Just a look, no pointing, no hand motions, no body language other than a look, a single word and then Alice is off to help Bob.

If the context is clear, you could say as little as "Go!" in English and be understood, yes.

One word becomes a few, to a handful of words. Are you really going to tell me in American media you get stuff like this? One retainer just answers "Yup!" to his Lord when his Lord tasks him to hold this hill? Remember, its one single word. What would "Makasero" become in that context, if you could only use one word?

Makasero literally means "entrust". English doesn't drop objects very much, but "trust me" is still fewer syllables/sounds overall. The concept of a "single word" becomes vague with agglutinative languages like Japanese, anyway.

I agree. But, in something like Unicorn Overlord, a retainer will just reply "makasero" to his Lord, the main character. Whereas in English, I have a very hard time accepting the same retainer would just say "trust me!". At the very least it would be "You can trust me, my Lord!". Maybe I am wrong here. Would an old Knight reply to his Liege Lord after given a command with just "trust me!"?

I don't know. Maybe they are wrong. Maybe they don't understand the relationship between liege and vassal. But, it is 100% acceptable in that game and in anime sometimes they even use Engrish and say: "Yessu, mai Rodo!" which is "Yes, milord!"

And you can point and say "aha! that's a two word reply that is 100% appropriate!" but that's not really using the meaning of "makasero". It's keeping the spirit of the word and not the literal translation. And my argument here is that in most cases, that is required for dialogue to "feel right" whereas a literal translation would "feel off" in the same way it feels off for a vassal to just say "trust me!" to his Liege Lord without any sort of deference.

As far as I can tell, "makasero" is not considered an especially polite or deferential word form, so it makes sense to me to translate it simply. And no, I don't think it feels off at all, personally.

[Oyster Sauce]

In anime, stuff like this happens all the time. "Tanomu!" which could roughly be translated in a context like this as "I am counting on you!" or "Makasero!" which can be roughly translated to "leave it to me!" or maybe "I got this!"

One word becomes a few, to a handful of words. Are you really going to tell me in American media you get stuff like this? One retainer just answers "Yup!" to his Lord when his Lord tasks him to hold this hill? Remember, its one single word. What would "Makasero" become in that context, if you could only use one word?

yessir

[Cipher]

In anime, stuff like this happens all the time. "Tanomu!" which could roughly be translated in a context like this as "I am counting on you!" or "Makasero!" which can be roughly translated to "leave it to me!" or maybe "I got this!"

One word becomes a few, to a handful of words. Are you really going to tell me in American media you get stuff like this? One retainer just answers "Yup!" to his Lord when his Lord tasks him to hold this hill? Remember, its one single word. What would "Makasero" become in that context, if you could only use one word?

yessir

It would be rude for a vassal knight to reply like that to his Liege Lord.

In other types of military context, that's 100% acceptable. Unicorn Overlord is based on medieval fantasy, though and uses that exact interaction.

[Tangerine]

In anime, stuff like this happens all the time. "Tanomu!" which could roughly be translated in a context like this as "I am counting on you!" or "Makasero!" which can be roughly translated to "leave it to me!" or maybe "I got this!"

One word becomes a few, to a handful of words. Are you really going to tell me in American media you get stuff like this? One retainer just answers "Yup!" to his Lord when his Lord tasks him to hold this hill? Remember, its one single word. What would "Makasero" become in that context, if you could only use one word?

yessir

It would be rude for a vassal knight to reply like that to his Liege Lord.

In other types of military context, that's 100% acceptable. Unicorn Overlord is based on medieval fantasy, though and uses that exact interaction.

"My lord/liege" as a response would be acceptable.

[Cipher]

If the context is clear, you could say as little as "Go!" in English and be understood, yes.

Makasero literally means "entrust". English doesn't drop objects very much, but "trust me" is still fewer syllables/sounds overall. The concept of a "single word" becomes vague with agglutinative languages like Japanese, anyway.

I agree. But, in something like Unicorn Overlord, a retainer will just reply "makasero" to his Lord, the main character. Whereas in English, I have a very hard time accepting the same retainer would just say "trust me!". At the very least it would be "You can trust me, my Lord!". Maybe I am wrong here. Would an old Knight reply to his Liege Lord after given a command with just "trust me!"?

I don't know. Maybe they are wrong. Maybe they don't understand the relationship between liege and vassal. But, it is 100% acceptable in that game and in anime sometimes they even use Engrish and say: "Yessu, mai Rodo!" which is "Yes, milord!"

And you can point and say "aha! that's a two word reply that is 100% appropriate!" but that's not really using the meaning of "makasero". It's keeping the spirit of the word and not the literal translation. And my argument here is that in most cases, that is required for dialogue to "feel right" whereas a literal translation would "feel off" in the same way it feels off for a vassal to just say "trust me!" to his Liege Lord without any sort of deference.

As far as I can tell, "makasero" is not considered an especially polite or deferential word form, so it makes sense to me to translate it simply. And no, I don't think it feels off at all, personally.

You don't think a vassal knight saying "trust me" to his Lord feels off? Ok. If that is the case, I accept your opinion. At the end of the day I am neither an expert in Japanese, nor a historian, nor an expert in medieval forms of address.

[Cipher]

yessir

It would be rude for a vassal knight to reply like that to his Liege Lord.

In other types of military context, that's 100% acceptable. Unicorn Overlord is based on medieval fantasy, though and uses that exact interaction.

"My lord/liege" as a response would be acceptable.

Yes, I agree. But then, we are translating the spirit of the word "makasero" and not its meaning. That's what I mean. In order for the dialogue to feel/appear correct to us, we have to localize it. Sometimes, a literal translation works just fine. Sometimes, we need to take some liberties. Sometimes, following the spirit of the word or sentence, actually is closer to the real intent and flow of the line instead of using the literal meaning.

[rusty_shackleford]

One word becomes a few, to a handful of words. Are you really going to tell me in American media you get stuff like this? One retainer just answers "Yup!" to his Lord when his Lord tasks him to hold this hill? Remember, its one single word. What would "Makasero" become in that context, if you could only use one word?

"Yea."

[J1M]

like Luke finding out Darth Vader is his father, and then imagine when he goes back to the MIllenium Falcon, Leia asks Luke what happened and if he is alright, and Luke looks taken aback for a moment and then he gets a flashback of the exact same moment of the reveal, the moment we just saw minutes ,if not seconds ago, before revealing it to Leia. Stuff like this happens all the time. My assumption is because anime in general is geared to 13 year old boys so the writers are worried they won't understand subtext without spelling it out. Honestly, it really sucks.

496094349_2524378351240165_5266415249951085448_n.jpg

Yes and there's a reason why the OT is so beloved. That "movie for 12 year old kids" also had the charred corpses of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru and the severed arm of the pig-nosed man in the cantina as well as Han shooting first.

12 year old boys love that stuff.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

In anime, stuff like this happens all the time. "Tanomu!" which could roughly be translated in a context like this as "I am counting on you!" or "Makasero!" which can be roughly translated to "leave it to me!" or maybe "I got this!"

One word becomes a few, to a handful of words. Are you really going to tell me in American media you get stuff like this? One retainer just answers "Yup!" to his Lord when his Lord tasks him to hold this hill? Remember, its one single word. What would "Makasero" become in that context, if you could only use one word?

I have not played Unicorn Overlord, but how formal is the relationship between the lord character and the retainers in this case? In JRPGs/anime, class formalities with the heroes are usually very light/superficial or just nonexistent. You have the prince party member chilling and bantering with his low ranking knight or even commoner friends. I am hard pressed to think of many anime/JRPGs in which there were formal boundaries you do not ever cross, such as Ascendance of a Bookworm.

It also depends on the context in which the character lines are being said (to the in person lord, or to the player controlling the characters from above?). Trails, Valkyria Chronicles, etc also has characters say things such as "leave it to me" or "my turn!" when it becomes their turn, saying it out loud to no actual character in the story but to the player.

[Oyster Sauce]

I agree. But, in something like Unicorn Overlord, a retainer will just reply "makasero" to his Lord, the main character. Whereas in English, I have a very hard time accepting the same retainer would just say "trust me!". At the very least it would be "You can trust me, my Lord!". Maybe I am wrong here. Would an old Knight reply to his Liege Lord after given a command with just "trust me!"?

I don't know. Maybe they are wrong. Maybe they don't understand the relationship between liege and vassal. But, it is 100% acceptable in that game and in anime sometimes they even use Engrish and say: "Yessu, mai Rodo!" which is "Yes, milord!"

And you can point and say "aha! that's a two word reply that is 100% appropriate!" but that's not really using the meaning of "makasero". It's keeping the spirit of the word and not the literal translation. And my argument here is that in most cases, that is required for dialogue to "feel right" whereas a literal translation would "feel off" in the same way it feels off for a vassal to just say "trust me!" to his Liege Lord without any sort of deference.

As far as I can tell, "makasero" is not considered an especially polite or deferential word form, so it makes sense to me to translate it simply. And no, I don't think it feels off at all, personally.

You don't think a vassal knight saying "trust me" to his Lord feels off? Ok. If that is the case, I accept your opinion. At the end of the day I am neither an expert in Japanese, nor a historian, nor an expert in medieval forms of address.

You're assuming that it's a realistic thing that a real Japanese soldier might say to his lord. I suspect people in Japanese anime video games for teenagers probably do not speak with the formality expected of a soldier from however many hundreds of years ago, and that trying to translate it into something you would expect a real English historical person might say would be inaccurate.

[J1M]

"Aye"
"Sir"
"Roger"
"Affirmative"
"Copy"
"Loud and clear"

[rusty_shackleford]

One word becomes a few, to a handful of words. Are you really going to tell me in American media you get stuff like this? One retainer just answers "Yup!" to his Lord when his Lord tasks him to hold this hill? Remember, its one single word. What would "Makasero" become in that context, if you could only use one word?

"Yea."

Don't know why this is getting disagrees, this is how "Yea" was used in late-Middle English & EME

what faye ye fayd kyng Arthur vnto fyre launcelot / wille ye abyde by youre profer / ye my lord fayd fir launcelot

Regularized spelling:

What say ye, said King Arthur unto Sir Launcelot, will ye abide by your professor? Yea, my lord, said Sir Launcelot

"Aye" would be just as apt, if about a century ahead of Le Morte D'Arthur

KING RICHARD III
Darest thou resolve to kill a friend of mine?
TYRREL
Ay, my lord;