Translation Review: [HorribleSubs] Kantai Collection – 01

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This post was written by kokujin-kun. He is not Dark_Sage.


Yes, you are probably all wondering why I’ve been absent for so long. The truth is I have gotten into some legal trouble:

 madkoku

They got me for tax evasion.

But I struck a deal with the feds, and hopefully they won’t discover my other flashdrive.

Table of Contents

Release Information

Translation

Other Observations

Final Grade

Release Information

Episode details.

Release format: MKV (335MB, 8-bit)

Translation: Professional Translation

Wap Level: Nearly Full Wap (honorifics; smattering of pois, kumas, & other verbal tics; “Sister” instead of “nee-sama”/”nee-san”)

English style: American English.

Speed: Quick (<48 hours)

 

External links.

Group website: http://www.crunchyroll.com/kancolle     http://horriblesubs.info/

IRC channel: #[email protected]

 

Translation

In the interest of clarity, I’ll be introducing a change in how I evaluate the scripts. I see too many translation reviews in which the writers count certain lines as wrong if they are not translated exactly the way they would have translated it. Of course, that kind of evaluation is problematic in that it sucks the life out of the inventiveness and creativity that I would like to see go into fansub scripts, and it might give people the wrong idea that some scripts are fundamentally flawed when the truth is they really aren’t. So from now on, I’ll be labeling lines I see as genuine translation errors (i.e. I believe the translator of the original script might agree with me) as “ERROR” and lines that I don’t quite agree with or think could be translated better, but is arguably passable as “NITPICK.” If there is no label, I’m just making  a general comment on the translation.

Main Script.

[HorribleSubs] Kantai Collection - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_02.01_[2015.01.07_23.42.02]

NITPICK

I’ll admit it took me a while to know what exactly the term seichi really meant. Some places had it written out as 聖地 (“holy grounds”) other places had it written as 生地 (“birthplace”) but it appears that the seichi is really written out as 棲地 (“dwelling place/habitat”), which I imagine is a word made up for this show. Because of this, I don’t think “enemy base” gives quite the right idea what they are attacking, but I suppose it works anyway.

 

[HorribleSubs] Kantai Collection - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_03.45_[2015.01.07_15.35.52]

NITPICK

Since these are natively-developed Japanese ships, it makes sense that since there are no American-sounding equivalent term, they will go ahead and just directly translate the Japanese term (tokugata kuchikukan in this case). The terms still sound pretty wonky, though.

[HorribleSubs] Kantai Collection - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_09.28_[2015.01.07_15.55.02]

NITPICK

If you thought this line looked shorter than what was said, you’d be right. Sunk-At-Eastern-Solomons-chan was actually saying “That’s the pride of the First Aircraft Carrier Fleet, AKA First Carrier, Akagi-senpai.”

[HorribleSubs] Kantai Collection - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_12.11_[2015.01.07_17.49.22]

I almost heard 秘書官 (hishoukan, secretary) instead of 秘書艦 (that character on the end turns it into “ship”).

 

[HorribleSubs] Kantai Collection - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_12.29_[2015.01.07_18.04.51]

ERROR

This line was mistimed.

 

[HorribleSubs] Kantai Collection - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_12.37_[2015.01.07_18.08.23]

MAJOR NITPICK

I’d say this is more of an error since she’s saying hanaiki ga naru (wrong usage) instead of hanaiki ga arai (right usage), but the average Japanese viewers can figure out what she’s trying to say. The English translation, however, makes no sense whatsoever. This is punctuated in the next line when her sister says that she is “wrong” (Crunchyroll has her saying “that doesn’t make any sense.”)

[HorribleSubs] Kantai Collection - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_14.27_[2015.01.16_21.41.25]

ERROR

Didn’t translate this (assault).

[HorribleSubs] Kantai Collection - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_17.12_[2015.01.07_18.29.34]

NITPICK

This line leaves out too much detail for my tastes (“Because I’m not that athletic…”)

[HorribleSubs] Kantai Collection - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_20.29_[2015.01.07_18.35.09]

ERROR

This is the “them” she is talking about.

 

Other Observations

[HorribleSubs] Kantai Collection - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_13.13_[2015.01.07_18.18.25]

The credits have her listed as Hibiki instead of the Verniy. Why is she speaking Russian?

Final Grade: A

If you’re basing your fansubs on this script, you can certainly go a lot worse. There weren’t any huge translation issues or a lot of silly mistakes I’ve noticed, and it looked like the script was NOT written by someone who’s located somewhere on the autism spectrum. And yes, I’m taking into account a major translation error in the latest episode. Maybe there were some naval terms that were not entirely correct, or they missed out on some subtleties, but that would require me express more interest in this franchise than I really care to give, since all I thought while watching this show is “When the hell is Douglas MacArthur going to sink these bitches?” (First person to point out it should be Admiral Nimitz wins three funbags full of dicks).

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28 thoughts on “Translation Review: [HorribleSubs] Kantai Collection – 01”

  8. “When the hell is Douglas MacArthur going to sink these bitches?”.
    That was the review’s paramount… I laughed my ass off!.

    Reply

  9. Kokujin-kun. Special Type Destroyers will always be Special Type Destroyers. Nitpick all you want, but it will forever be Special Type Destroyers, because Special Type Destroyers is Special Type Destroyers. That’s how it is. This is like calling “twerking” something else. No, twerking is twerking. Deal with it.

    “The credits have her listed as Hibiki instead of the Verniy. Why is she speaking Russian?”
    You’re an idiot. Research more about Kankore. Hibiki sometimes uses Russian words in her speech. When she becomes Verniy, she speaks even more Russian.

    About the Major Nitpick. Care to explain what the hell Kongou tried to say? My friend said it had something to do with water up her nose or something, but I still don’t get it.

    Also, it’d be great if you’d review my BD release in December 2015. I successfully collaborated with a BD release group to use my somewhat heavily edited CR scripts as a base.

    Reply

    • >Special Type Destroyers will
      >always be Special Type Destroyers.

      If it makes you feel better, it’s a minor nitpick

      >You’re an idiot. Research more about Kankore.

      That was supposed to be a statement about the KanColle franchise in its entirety. Why would they make that… ship girl speak Russian when she wasn’t handed over to the Russians and renamed yet.

      >Care to explain what the hell
      >Kongou tried to say?

      She was trying to say 鼻息が荒い, which basically means she’s really excited.

      >Also, it’d be great if you’d review
      >my BD release in December 2015.

      That would mean I have to subject myself to this lackluster series once again.

      Reply

      • “Why would they make that… ship girl speak Russian when she wasn’t handed over to the Russians and renamed yet.”

        Well, I don’t know enough about KanColle to tell you why, but if you check out the wiki page, you can see her using lines such as Хорошо in the as Hibiki section.

        Reply

          • Allow me.

            The devs introduced Verniy much later than Hibiki. Verniy is basically her 改二 and was only added something like half a year after Hibiki. The devs didn’t have the foresight when they wrote her original lines to make the Russian exclusive to the version that actually went to Russia.

            Seriously though, aren’t Kancolle nerds just great? All those SEA nerds have the mental horizon of a potato.

            Reply

      • Hibiki probably speaks a little Japanese as a bit of foreshadowing, even though it’s not really necessary. Also helps with characterising her after the actual boat: Since the boat ended up going to Russia, showing her to be interested in Russian culture (at least enough to learn some of the language) makes it more believable that she’d go to Russia.

        Reply

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