Translation Review: [FTW] Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui – 01

July 12, 2013July 9, 2013 by kokujin-kun

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

Will FFF and UTW do this show of the season justice?

Release Information

Translation

Other Observations

Final Grade

Release Information

Episode details.

Release format: MKV (350MB, 10-bit)

Wap Level: None

English style: American English.

Speed: Quick (<48 hours)

External links.

Group website: http://fffansubs.org http://utw.me

IRC channel: #[email protected] #[email protected]

Fansub.co screenshot comparisons:

Subbusu screenshot comparisons:

Translation

Karaoke.

OP of the season. They do good work, though I imagine that they might have to change a few lyrics for the batch. What’s interesting is that they went for the direct translation of the show title here instead of the modified, less-of-a-mouthful version of the title (It’s Not My Fault That I’m Not Popular!) that seems to be popular with the scanlators. I guess to each his own.

ED of the forever. They also do good work here. Truth be told, I thought this line was supposed to be deai ga nan da yo (“So what if I’m not meeting guys?”) but hitori makes more sense once I think about it.

Main Script.

Oh ye gods. With all the donation money they have, UTW can’t afford a focus group or something? Sure, they’re trying to think up a corresponding word to a Japanese internet portmanteau mojo (喪女 or literally “mourning woman”) but they failed miserably here. No, “unpogirl” is never going to happen guys, so think of something better.

“A show about nothing.”

“A guy” not “guys.”

Since the original Japanese in the title says “image change,” we must shoehorn it in the English title too! Ignore the fact that words like “makeover” also exist.

Lawl.

Lesser groups would come up with “Why are you coming in on your own?” or some other horseshit line. Luckily these two groups decided to go with natural language.

Niiice.

They gave Motoko two lines for this whole sentence, but they couldn’t find a way to slip in the fact that Motoki is a forward? Also “starter,” not “regular member.”

These lines made me happy in my pants.

Interesting that they would come up with, ugh, “unpogirls,” but then decide not to name the snacks on the right “Umyum Bars” or something just as retarded as what’s on the package in Japanese. BTW, it says “Maiubou” on the package, which is supposed to be a riff on that real Japanese junk food “Umaibou.”

Typesetter asleep at the wheel, apparently.

Forgot a “hai” here.

Take it from me, yabee does, in fact, mean “holy shit” :3

Are you sure that モ (mo) isn’t in fact short for mojo or (*snort*) “unpogirl”?　Plus it’s “Tomoko.”

And for some strange reason they decided to punt on this typesetting.

Other Observations

Strangest mix of real products and fake products ever.

Hardest series for which to choose the best reaction face ever.

Final Grade: A

You got two of the most experienced translators in the fansubban business working on this series, so you can’t go wrong with sticking with this group. Any complaints I have about this release are admittedly just minor nerdraging nitpicks that shouldn’t affect the overall enjoyment of this release. The script was strong for the most part, so strong that Crunchyroll will have to step up their game if they want to be a viable alternative.

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47 thoughts on “Translation Review: [FTW] Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui – 01”

stgmefly

July 9, 2013 at 2:24 pm

Watamote is shit though
Reply
- sakagamitomoya Fuck xythar hes a gay jewish nazi cuntreamer
  
  July 9, 2013 at 2:31 pm
  
  this
  So is the opening.
  Reply
- kokujin-kun
  
  July 9, 2013 at 2:32 pm
  
  Well, you know what?
  
  http://i.imgur.com/qf4G6YB.jpg
  Reply
  - stgmefly
    
    July 9, 2013 at 2:44 pm
    
    >mfw http://puu.sh/3yjPB
    Reply
  - TouToTheHouYo
    
    July 9, 2013 at 2:51 pm
    
    But, wait, what if I agree with you? By that definition it would mean your tastes are shit, but mine aren’t, and I agree with you, but then yours are shit again because they’re not mine, which would then make mine shit, but they can’t be because they’re mine, but.. then.. ARGH!
    
    FUCK IT!
    
    EVERYTHING’S SHIT!
    
    PROBLEM SOLVED!
    Reply
    - kokujin-kun
      
      July 9, 2013 at 2:58 pm
      
      But that would mean we have to assume that your tastes, whatever they may be, mean shit to me in the first place
      ( ﾟ∀ﾟ)ｱﾊﾊ八八ﾉヽﾉヽﾉヽﾉ＼ / ＼/ ＼
      Reply
      - stgmefly
        
        July 9, 2013 at 3:22 pm
        
        This all started because I insulted something I know nothing of
        Reply
        
        TouToTheHouYo
        
        July 10, 2013 at 7:02 pm
        
        And thus we find the route of every major problem on the internet.
        Reply
Humanity

July 9, 2013 at 2:45 pm

Pathechicks
Feminothings
Pointlasses
…Yeah, I can’t think of anything either. =/
Reply
- TouToTheHouYo
  
  July 9, 2013 at 2:54 pm
  
  Considering the shows intended audience does it really need an alternative?
  Reply
  - kokujin-kun
    
    July 9, 2013 at 2:59 pm
    
    Yeah, they could have just put down “Mojyo” and they would have gotten away with it better, imo.
    Reply
    - lygerzero0zero
      
      July 9, 2013 at 3:02 pm
      
      “jyo” romanization always gets on my nerves .-.
      Reply
      - kokujin-kun
        
        July 9, 2013 at 3:05 pm
        
        Mine too, but this time it can’t be helped.
        
        http://puu.sh/3ySlc.jpg
        Reply
        
        lygerzero0zero
        
        July 9, 2013 at 4:01 pm
        
        Damn studios and their silly romaji.
        Reply
    - HenAi
      
      July 9, 2013 at 8:42 pm
      
      What makes it even worse is that they needed to translate a whole paragraph explaining the meaning of the word, anyway. And not just that, it even explains the fucking Japanese wordplay, too. So as you said, they could just have left it as Mojyo. If you get a free translation note handed to you by the show, use it instead of using a retarded junk word like that.
      
      That major facepalm moment aside, yeah, the translation really is good. I was expecting a load of shit after I had heard of their translation for 喪女 beforehand, but hey.
      Reply
      - kokujin-kun
        
        July 9, 2013 at 9:56 pm
        
        Well, to be fair, I think FFF maintains a policy of localizing everything that’s even remotely Japanese-sounding. I’m more surprised at UTW, which usually is more weaboo about these things.
        Reply
        
        HenAi
        
        July 9, 2013 at 10:30 pm
        
        Well, if your policy makes for a shit translation, then you should ignore that policy. Which of course works both ways.
        If there was a nice term that fit there, of course they could have used it. But the thing is, localizing is not an ends unto itself. If doing it makes your translation worse, then don’t do it. The same way you should not just be totally literal all by yourself.
        
        Essentially, if you write something out and reading it makes you get this feeling of “uh, somehow this seems retarded”, please change it if there’s a better alternative. :V
        
        But yeah, I see what you mean.
        Reply
        
        Calyrica
        
        July 9, 2013 at 11:04 pm
        
        Actually, that used to be FFF’s policy. Ever since I think last year, we’ve weeaboo’d it up a little bit. Honorifics and all!
        Reply
- FalseDawn
  
  July 9, 2013 at 6:32 pm
  
  I like pointlasses. That’s classy.
  Reply
  - kokujin-kun
    
    July 9, 2013 at 7:16 pm
    
    I’d go for “bonerkiller.”
    Reply
- Dark_Sage
  
  July 9, 2013 at 7:43 pm
  
  Isn’t “forever alone” the commonly accepted term?
  Reply
  - blankley
    
    July 9, 2013 at 9:09 pm
    
    but memes!
    Reply
- Pacific
  
  July 9, 2013 at 9:51 pm
  
  How about woed or woe-ed (abbr. woeful coed)?
  Moedead has a nice ring to it also.
  Reply
  - kokujin-kun
    
    July 9, 2013 at 10:00 pm
    
    Hell of a lot better than… what was it again, oh yeah, unpogirls >_>
    Reply
    - Solaristics
      
      July 9, 2013 at 10:06 pm
      
      Lol, yep. When I saw that line in the video I was like, Huh?
      Reply
    - Dark_Sage
      
      July 9, 2013 at 10:18 pm
      
      “unpo” sounds like something a mascot character would say.
      Reply
    - thecowgoesmoo
      
      August 2, 2013 at 2:36 am
      
      For the record, “unpogirl” has been replaced with “miss-fit”, though one episode may or may not have had “hopelass”.
      Reply
  - HenAi
    
    July 9, 2013 at 10:42 pm
    
    How about Unkogirls.
    … kill me.
    Reply
  - TouToTheHouYo
    
    July 10, 2013 at 7:05 pm
    
    I’d just call her Mojo Jojo.
    Reply
- mini-ezo
  
  July 11, 2013 at 2:39 pm
  
  Forever Alone Girl→F.A.G.
  My brain is tired.
  Reply
kiacan

July 9, 2013 at 3:40 pm

I beg to differ, though I appreciate the reaction faces in this show, Great Teacher Onizuka is something else…
Reply
- kokujin-kun
  
  July 9, 2013 at 5:28 pm
  
  GTO… okay, you win.
  Reply
thecowgoesmoo

July 9, 2013 at 6:18 pm

I was going to take issue with the A, but then I remembered this was supposed to be a translation review. DS, do you think you’ll get to Watamote before the end of the month?
Reply
- kokujin-kun
  
  July 9, 2013 at 7:17 pm
  
  Oh yeah, I’m sure he’ll have issues with more than a few lines in this release.
  Reply
Actar

July 9, 2013 at 7:42 pm

Mm… I don’t get it. Why do fansub groups keep changing their localization policies from show to show? Is it a case of having multiple editors/translators with different personal preferences?

Whether you’re in favor of localization or not, it does make it difficult to trust a brand.
Reply
- kokujin-kun
  
  July 9, 2013 at 9:57 pm
  
  Well, I guess when it comes to FFF and UTW doing a joint, it’s basically a flip of the coin. I guess they went “localized” since the FFF side appears to be doing most of the work.
  Reply
2CE

July 10, 2013 at 5:57 pm

God Tier. Already listed on my PrioList as #2.
Laughter and sadness/empathy was experienced. Still at 14:16 of the show, though.

>OP of the season.
Indeed. /highfive
I hate to admit, but this OP is > MEG ROCK’s song for Nekomono-White.

>ED of the forever.
Haven’t seen yet, but I believe I will agree to it.

>unpogirl
They (FTW) could make a better one on their next release, who knows. Considering this( I believe) is a speedsub. Wondering what grade will D_S give for this joint release. I’ll watch Commie’s seed too.

Death Note, Love Live!’s Nico.. what else? ugh, need to finish this so I can add more.
Reply
- kokujin-kun
  
  July 10, 2013 at 6:12 pm
  
  Well, I guess it’s an exaggeration to call it the “ED of the Forever” but it’s a hell of a lot better and laughter-inducing than most of the fucking anisongs out there.
  Reply
2CE

July 10, 2013 at 6:40 pm

Done watching first episode.

Can’t agree with you more. It’s originality and the ‘fairy tale line’-like ED lyrics are good. Not certain.. maybe Snow White or Cinderella?

18:46 Sadao Maou (?)

BTW, you’ll do Commie’s, right? I’m still downloading it so I have no clue if they used ‘unpogirl’ or a new term. My money’s on the latter.
Reply
anon-tan

July 10, 2013 at 7:05 pm

>“A show about nothing.”
Seinfeld?

Wasn’t going to pick this up, but some of these screenshots are changing my mind.
Reply
VEGETA

July 11, 2013 at 10:25 am

what about that sentence about when she dropped her eraser? It seems a little bit odd.

plz describe.

thanks!
Reply
- sleepy920
  
  July 11, 2013 at 11:07 am
  
  Out of 106 times she dropped her eraser, the guy who sat next to her, picks it up 31 times(1/3).
  Reply
  - VEGETA
    
    July 12, 2013 at 8:00 am
    
    thank you! that’s what I figured out later.
    
    But this isn’t said in this release’s subs… right?
    Reply
VEGETA

July 14, 2013 at 2:51 pm

“A show about nothing.”

I don’t think this is right, the right thing is what they chose.

it’s “doodemo ii monogatari” > monogatari=story

and this line is related to the 2 previous lines of the narrator. so, yes, FTW chose the best.

don’t you think so?
Reply
- Anon
  
  July 14, 2013 at 3:38 pm
  
  A show is a story presented in a visual format (televised).
  “Show” is a perfectly valid edit for “story” in this case.
  Reply
  - VEGETA
    
    July 14, 2013 at 8:44 pm
    
    but, in the previous line he mentioned “…no” which indicates more like “her monogatari”…
    
    so, do you mean “her show” but split in 2 lines.
    Reply
    - kokujin-kun
      
      August 8, 2013 at 5:58 pm
      
      It wasn’t actually a mistake on their part, it’s just me wanting to shoehorn a pop-culture reference :p
      Reply