The Universe Likes to Laugh Too . . .
Wow. The dust on the old blog isn't all that thick . . . I don't even have to hit the keyboard with a can of air cleaner.
Every once in a while, deep down inside, I think we all have the feeling that the Universe likes to pull the occasional "ha ha" on unsuspecting individuals.
Many of my friends know that I have been studying Japanese for years. I have three years of formal training (i.e., college classes) - and have continued to study on my own - though quite unsuccessfully due to 1) the unexpected birth of my child; and 2) in the past, no one around me shared my Japanese obsession, and it was generally considered impolite to address folks in Japanese if they had no chance of understanding what I was saying. *Watashi no sei jaa nakatta!* (It wasn't my fault!) The end result being, my Japanese, much like my poetry skills, has rusted.
Thus, came the challenge. To truly test my revived Japanese skills, I decided to purchase a series of manga that I had never read before. Translation will have to be based purely off the text - and not off any prior knowledge. In other words, it is easier to translate the story of Cindarella if you already know the basic premise . . . but figuring out why the Prince is carrying around a glass slipper is far more challenging if you've never heard the story!
After much thought, I settled on Zettai Kareshi (Absolute Boyfriend) - Yuu Watase's most recent series. Yuu Watase authored Fushigi Yuugi (Mysterious Play) and Ayashi no Ceres (Ceres - Celestial Legend) - titles which many of my friends will recognize by the sole fact that they have had to repeatedly tell me to shut up regarding these stories . . . since I tend to gush on and on if given the chance.
As an additional bonus, Zettai Kareshi recently made it to America - so I could purchase the English translation to check my work (in as much as the English translation is accurate. I swear if i see one more colloquial saying like "stud muffin" - I'm going to . . . . to . . . AAAARRGGGHHHH . . . admit my impotence to affect any aspect of the highly profitable manga translation business).
Insert the Universe and its rampant sense of humor.
In my defense, all I can say is that Yuu Watase's prior works were all rated PG-13. So imagine my surprise when the first book arrived, and the cover looked like this:
In all honesty, it actually looks like it will be a cute story . . . but I apparently bought the series wherein Yuu Watase is cutting loose with a campy, fun, and far more risque than usual story about a young girl whom, after repeatedly being rejected, ends up with the perfect boyfriend . . . a mail order robot named Nightly Lover.
In essence . . . I think I just purchased a series that is roughly the equivalent of Japanese soft porn.
But I spent the money and I'm going to translate it, darn it!
Though oddly, much of the vocabulary doesn't seem to be in the dictionary. . .
Every once in a while, deep down inside, I think we all have the feeling that the Universe likes to pull the occasional "ha ha" on unsuspecting individuals.
Many of my friends know that I have been studying Japanese for years. I have three years of formal training (i.e., college classes) - and have continued to study on my own - though quite unsuccessfully due to 1) the unexpected birth of my child; and 2) in the past, no one around me shared my Japanese obsession, and it was generally considered impolite to address folks in Japanese if they had no chance of understanding what I was saying. *Watashi no sei jaa nakatta!* (It wasn't my fault!) The end result being, my Japanese, much like my poetry skills, has rusted.
Thus, came the challenge. To truly test my revived Japanese skills, I decided to purchase a series of manga that I had never read before. Translation will have to be based purely off the text - and not off any prior knowledge. In other words, it is easier to translate the story of Cindarella if you already know the basic premise . . . but figuring out why the Prince is carrying around a glass slipper is far more challenging if you've never heard the story!
After much thought, I settled on Zettai Kareshi (Absolute Boyfriend) - Yuu Watase's most recent series. Yuu Watase authored Fushigi Yuugi (Mysterious Play) and Ayashi no Ceres (Ceres - Celestial Legend) - titles which many of my friends will recognize by the sole fact that they have had to repeatedly tell me to shut up regarding these stories . . . since I tend to gush on and on if given the chance.
As an additional bonus, Zettai Kareshi recently made it to America - so I could purchase the English translation to check my work (in as much as the English translation is accurate. I swear if i see one more colloquial saying like "stud muffin" - I'm going to . . . . to . . . AAAARRGGGHHHH . . . admit my impotence to affect any aspect of the highly profitable manga translation business).
Insert the Universe and its rampant sense of humor.
In my defense, all I can say is that Yuu Watase's prior works were all rated PG-13. So imagine my surprise when the first book arrived, and the cover looked like this:
In all honesty, it actually looks like it will be a cute story . . . but I apparently bought the series wherein Yuu Watase is cutting loose with a campy, fun, and far more risque than usual story about a young girl whom, after repeatedly being rejected, ends up with the perfect boyfriend . . . a mail order robot named Nightly Lover.In essence . . . I think I just purchased a series that is roughly the equivalent of Japanese soft porn.
But I spent the money and I'm going to translate it, darn it!
Though oddly, much of the vocabulary doesn't seem to be in the dictionary. . .
posted by Andrea Peach | 8:53 PM
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