This post was written by Dark_Sage. He is Dark_Sage.
3 reviews left till I finish off the season. Aww, yeah!
Table of Contents
Release Information
Episode details.
Release format: MKV (271 MB, 8-bit)
Japanesiness: No honorifics.
English style: American English.
Encoding details: http://pastebin.com/13p8zZxu
Speed: Slower than arashi, if you know what I mean.
External links.
Group website: http://genjo-subs.tk/ (yes, .tk) http://sighsubs.jyasuten.org/
IRC channel: #[email protected] #[email protected]
SubCompare screenshot comparisons: http://www.subcompare.com/magi/
Commie’s fansub reviews: http://notredrevie.ws/autumn-2012-reviews/#magi
Visual Review
Karaoke.
Opening. Good color choice. The font and k-timing stick out, and the English matches the hardsubbed kanji. However, even though the romaji made an impact, I can’t say it was one I particularly fell in love with. The letters drift all over the place and the shift from line to line can get confusing. Honestly, it felt a little too out there. I appreciate the ideas behind the karaoke, but I’m not so big a fan of the execution.
Rating: Okay.
Ending. I liked what they did here. Again, the English matches well with the hardsubbed kanji. The colors make sense and the font/k-timing effect actually work well by standing out without overpowering the ED.
Rating: Good.
Typesetting.
Other.
Oh, a Japanese advertisement! How hilarious and unique you are for including this, Sigh-Genjo. I’m sure the ten people who download your subs are the kind of people who enjoy this shit, so good job on reading your audience.
Script Review
Karaoke.
I was looking specifically for this in the other groups’ subs, but it looks like only Sigh-Genjo tripped up on this one. The word is “reins”, not “reigns”. “reins” are what you use for horses, but “reign” is the term used for when someone (like a queen or king) rules/holds leadership over a group of people. Well, that’s a very narrow definition, but I think you know what the word means.
Main Script.
Actually, it would be “an herbal remedy”. You use “an” preceding vowel sounds (apple, hour, orange) and “a” preceding consonant sounds (pleasant, banana, murderer).
Edit: Apparently some comment Nazis wanna trample on my justice-loving, American sensibilities by pointing out that this only applies to American English and that British English doesn’t follow this rule. Apparently I’m obliged to note that this is not technically an error and is merely a regional difference. Well, fine! Have your victory! I’ll be eating some delicious apple pie over here. And ya know what? It’ll taste like freedom.
It would be more appropriate to use “in this caravan” because rather than using “caravan” to describe a “journey”, she’s more using it to describe a “group”. You go on journeys in groups, which is why I think “in” is a better word to use.
“Could” is what you use to ask someone to do something, whereas “Can” is what you use to ask if someone is able to do something.
While in common speak it’s not uncommon to hear people use “Can” instead of “Could”, she’s speaking formally here, so what Sigh-Genjo has is wrong.
The word is “bind”, but thanks for fucking up; this will provide an excellent image thumbnail for the post.
“Are there some medicine?” Really?
Y’all also missed the overlap font on this screen.
Sigh-Genjo vs. gg
I’m just gonna compare scripts from the pre-OP part of the episode. It’d take too long to do the whole episode and I really don’t care enough to do so.
gg: Buy them fast, buy them now!
Advantage: Sigh-Genjo. S-G’s vendor call was clearly superior. You get all of gg’s meaning in S-G’s line, and it’s more believable as something a merchant would shout.
gg: We’ve got fresh Hami melons, white apricots, and dates! //All rarities not found in this town!
Advantage: Sigh-Genjo. I buy gg’s “not found in this town”, but I’m not quite sold on the “rarities” part. Felt S-G’s made more sense in this scene.
gg: Thank you very much!
Advantage: Sigh-Genjo. I think you can figure out why.
gg: You with the kabob! Want to try something much tastier?
Advantage: Sigh-Genjo. “Wanna” and “Mr. Kebab” were very flavorful lines that gg’s subs didn’t quite match.
gg: And you, guy with the flushed cheeks! You can turn this into alcohol too!
Advantage: Sigh-Genjo. I can’t say I was super impressed with either groups’ lines here, but I’d say S-G won me over with the “Mr. Rosy Cheeks” and “fine wine” as opposed to gg’s “guy with the flushed cheeks” and “alcohol”. You get way more imagery out of Sigh-Genjo’s lines.
gg: Sahsa, our next batch still isn’t here? // At this rate, we’re going to sell out before we can restock!
Advantage: Sigh-Genjo. gg’s felt a bit redundant with the “if we sell out before a restock, it’ll be bad!” phrasing. Leave that logic to the viewers, please.
gg: She’ll be back with it at any moment now. // Look!
Advantage: gg. I like the use of “any moment” more than “any time”. This isn’t something I often touch on in my reviews, but specificity goes a long way toward drawing in viewers to the subs, even if it’s not very noticeable on first blush.
gg: I’m so glad you joined our caravan, Morgiana! // I see.
Advantage: Draw. I quite liked both versions, actually. The “I see.” really hit on Morg’s personality, but the “No problem.” in S-G’s subs managed to do the same thing in an entirely different way.
gg: It’s already been half a year since we met you in Qishan, hasn’t it?
Advantage: Draw.
gg: I apologize for my behavior back then.
Advantage: Sigh-Genjo had the superior line here. Their use of “apologize” in conjunction with “for” brought tears to my eyes. gg’s subs linked “back” to “then”, which was not nearly so impressive.
gg: I had heard you were headed for Balbadd and I jumped in front of your caravan without a second thought.
Advantage: gg. Assuming gg’s translation is accurate, gg’s version gives more to the backstory than S-G’s subs did. With gg’s subs we learn how she stopped the caravan. While not being an important distinction in the grand scheme of things, this is still something we should know as viewers.
gg: Thank you so much for taking in a complete stranger like myself.
Advantage: gg. Morg doesn’t seem like the kinda person who’d use casual slang like “hitch a ride”.
gg: I-It’s fine.
Advantage: Sigh-Genjo. I like the personality S-G had for this chick more than what gg gave her.
gg: You’re such a hard worker!
Advantage: Draw. S-G had a slightly better line, but they also used “you know!” which makes me gag. I suppose they could have used “after all!” instead, which would have been even worse, so perhaps I should thank the gods they only went with this. gg’s avoided that, but the line didn’t have the same meaning that S-G’s did, which was closer to what I’d expect to hear from an English dub or some other natural localization of the story.
gg: Yes. We wouldn’t mind if you continued to stay with us, even after Balbadd!
Advantage: Sigh-Genjo. The main difference here is in the “Yes.” vs. “I’ll say!”. “Yes.” comes across as much more forced in comparison to what S-G had.
gg: I cannot. I must return to my homeland.
Advantage: gg. gg gets Morg’s formal speech and dismissive personality across much better through slightly shortened lines and focus (must vs. need to, cannot vs. can’t do that).
gg: That is what I promised my benefactor.
Advantage: Sigh-Genjo. The fuck is up with gg’s “benefactor” line?
Numbers:
gg > Sigh-Genjo: 4 times
Sigh-Genjo > gg: 9 times
Tie: 4 times
gg tended to win on the specificity front whereas I’d say Sigh-Genjo added a bit more to the characters’ flavor than gg did. While I would consider each script pretty damn good, based on what I’ve seen of both groups (not just in this comparison), on the whole I’d give the nod to Sigh-Genjo.
Results
Watchability: Quite watchable.
Visual grade: B
Script grade: A-
Overall grade: B+
In a head to head battle, I’d give the advantage to Sigh-Genjo’s script over gg’s. But I don’t see any particular reason to wait three weeks per episode just to get their subs, even if they are better, because the difference isn’t that notable.
Back to top
O_o
Insightful comment. Thank you for that, Yumi.
>But S-G’s line makes it seem like Aladdin fucking died or something.
The big, thick guy did die. He’s the man she’s talking about.
Well fuck my dick with a poisoned cactus. Fix’d.
I’ll have my people call your people and I’m sure they can work out an appointment within the week.
> I apologize for my behavior back then.
I’m not seeing a difference between the two groups’ lines here. Was the wrong line for gg put in?
Here’s a hint: I put the right line for gg in. Oh, and Sigh-Genjo’s line is accurate as well.
I prefer gg’s wording personally. “On first blush” is a term i’ve never heard before, what a curious thing.
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/at+first+blush
I kinda have a hard-on for the term.
Your point about “an herbal remedy” is debatable. I’ve heard many people pronounce “herb” with a hard H instead of pronouncing it “urb”. I guess it just depends on the individual.
Those people are stupid and need to be removed from the gene pool.
Words that start with h are weird. I also see “an historical [occasion/event/etc.]” frequently in academic texts. I guess it’s similar to people who pronounce “what” as “hwat” (I’ve got a professor this semester who does that).
While certainly unusual, that is what Received Pronunciation considers correct, and which is, by extension, what others usually consider the ‘correct’ British accent. The wake of this can be felt in loanwords such as ホワイト～.
I’m pretty sure that isn’t the case for contemporary RP, although I suppose it is somewhat debatable.
It’s moribund all right.
Sage, every English speaker outside of America (and maybe Canada) pronounces the h. In an American English release the h-less version is probably better, but genocide is maybe a bit harsh…
No exceptions! I’m so sorry, inferior nations. If it makes you feel any better, it’s for my own good!
FWIW, every other nation reciprocates. In any case, the pronunciation is
Americans being contrariansa legitimate dialectal difference, and isn’t really an error.Have it your way. Review updated.
“an herb” is the one part of American English that I simply cannot get used to, no matter how hard I try. All I can do is refuse to acknowledge its existence.
Do you pronounce “hour” as “hower”?
Do you pronounce “house” as “ouse”?
…Fair enough.
You do in cockney…
“But S-G’s line makes it seem like Aladdin fucking died or something.”
I thought she was talking about the other slave that did die
Thanks for the review.
We don’t usually take more than 4-5 days to release an episode. The translator disappeared before being able to translate episode 08 (we now know that he was sick), though luckily all episodes in the backlog are already being worked on and we should be caught up before episode 11 airs (tentatively).
Wow, I haven’t post a comment on this site in months. :P
Genjo have never actually finished anything they’ve started, so…
I have to say, Genjo has one of the most (unnecessarily) snazzy websites I’ve ever seen. Really brought out my inner three-year-old self. Seriously, did their leader kidnap a bunch of web designers or something?
10 comments that display author/comment/post (current)
Isn’t the current one only author/comment?
Half credit! You can see what post they’re on if you scroll over the people’s names. It appears you’re outnumbered on this one, so I think I’ll be keeping it as-is. If you can find a plugin for WordPress that lets people choose what they want to see for comments, though, do let me know.
Didn’t the old site used to say “X on Y commented: Z”? I knew there was something different about the format. Not like it makes that much of a difference, anyways. I fail to see how stushi is outnumbered when all of the options mention the post leaving the statistics at 0%/100% in favour of the post name…
I meant he was outnumbered on the poll. He asked in the “What next see” post to put the comments back to “10 comments that display author/post”. So from that request, I put up a poll to see what people thought and most people want it how I have it set up now, I guess.
Guess you need that backstory for my comment to make sense.