Victory Manual

After writing up a post about translating humor, specifically focusing on Darjeeling Limited in Japanese, I searched for the official movie site in Japanese and was happy to find that there was a trailer with Japanese subtitles. I’d like to document the English script and Japanese subtitles below, with a brief comparison following.

[Francis] I think we have a chance to make this kind of a life-changing experience, and I think we need it.
この旅で俺たちは家族の絆を取り戻すんだ

[Francis] You are the two most important people in the world to me.
かけがえのない兄弟だ

[Francis] This is incredible!
最高だ！

[Francis] Why haven’t we spoken in a year?
なぜ絶交したのかな
[Jack] Because we don’t trust each other.
信じ合えなかったから

[Francis] Is that my belt?
俺のベルトだ！
[Peter] Can I borrow it?
借りただけ

[Francis] Do you have any questions?
質問は？
[Peter] I do.
ある
[Francis] OK, go ahead.
何だ
[Peter] What happened to your face?
その顔は？

[Francis] What’s going on?
どうした？
[Brendan] I don’t know, I guess the train’s lost.
列車が迷子になった
[Jack] What’d he say?
何だと？
[Peter] He says the train’s lost.
迷子だとさ
[Jack] How can a train be lost? It’s on rails.
レールの上を走ってるのに？

[Rita] What’s wrong with you?
なぜ妙な行動を？
[Jack] Let me think about that.
その答えを探してる

[Indian man] What are you doing in this place?
なぜここに？
[Francis] Well, originally I guess we came here on a spiritual journey.
心の旅をしています
…
[Francis] You love me!
俺が好きか？
[Peter] Yes I do!
もちろんだ！
[Jack] I love you too, but I’m gonna mace you in the face!
激辛スプレーをお見舞いするぞ
…
[Francis] But that didn’t really pan out.
なかなか悟れなくて

Right off the bat, I found it interesting how explicit the Japanese subtitles are in regards to the story line. The first line in English is very general with, “a life-changing experience,” but the Japanese (この旅で俺たちは家族の絆を取り戻すんだ) would literally translate as, “We’ll regain our family-bond through this journey.” Even ‘journey’ isn’t explicitly stated in the English line, but generally expressed with ‘experience’.

In the lines with the belt, the Japanese subtitles come off as more accusational and defensive than the English conveys. I’d translate it simply as, 「それ、俺のベルト？」「借りてもいいですか」. I explained it to my wife that way and she could “feel” the scene better.

Regarding the ‘lost train’, I was under the impression that 迷子 only expressed a child being lost. What conotations does it have, if any, when applying it to a train? Can I use 迷子 for anything that becomes lost of its own account, like a dog?

In the scene with Rita and Jack, the emphasis is thrown on the actions and not on Jack’s faulty character. I don’t think this comes out as well in the Japanese subtitles.

I don’t like how they handled the line where Jack says, “I love you too, but I’m gonna mace you in the face.”

According to the trailer on the official site, the movie is being released in Japan next month. Perfect timing for me to catch it in the theater a second-time around with Japanese subtitles.

(Afterthoughts: It’s interesting that periods aren’t necessary in Japanese subtitles. Also, I think the reason they add so much narration to the preview is that the Japanese audience doesn’t understand the song lyrics which really explain the ambience.)