Let’s see how well the Japanese subtitles of Avengers: Infinity War convey the original dialogue.
I watched Avengers: Infinity War with Japanese subtitles on just to see how some lines translated into another language. I got to say, I really like what I saw for the most part. Here are some that caught my attention.
Hitherto
English line: “Did you seriously just say ‘hitherto undreamt of'”
Japanese line: 稀代って使うか？kidai tte tsukau ka? (literal translation: did you just say ‘extraordinary’?)
The literal translation here is not what’s interesting about the word kidai (the counterpart of hitherto in this scenario). In fact, it has multiple meanings such as matchless, and rare. What intrigued me was the fact that it needed furigana (hiragana written next to kanji to indicate pronunciation) on top of the subtitle when it was first said by Doctor Strange. This is because, like its English counterpart, it’s not used in everyday conversation. So not everyone will know the word’s reading. You’ll probably find this word in classical literature however.
Kick names, take ass
English line: “Kick names, take ass.”
Japanese line: ケツをビシバシ ketsu wo bishibashi (translation: we slap butts with force.)
The phrase “take names and kick ass” does not exist in Japanese, nor is there an equivalent. However, the translators took the phrase “kick ass” literally and took it up to the next level. Bishibashi is an adverb that means “without holding anything back” or “mercilessly” or “violently.” If one were to hear this verb, they would imagine something slapping against something (e.g. the wind was so strong, it blew the bamboo so violently it slapped someone).
Remember how I said the subtitles took “kick ass” literally? I really meant that. The phrase usually means “beat someone up” in English, but the subtitles did not reflect that at all. Instead, they used the word “butt” instead of “person.” Hence, the Guardians of the Galaxy are really good at slapping butts with intense force. If I were to make the translation more interesting, I’d probably say something like: “we destroy asses.”
Endgame
English Line: We’re in the Endgame now.
Japanese Line: あとがなくなったな ato ga nakunatta na (Translation: We’re out of options.)
This line is pretty much what I was waiting for. Especially since the dialogue hinted at the sequel’s movie title. Unfortunately, the Japanese script ignored the game-related term, ignoring the fact that the entire fight was part of Doctor Strange’s one play to the best outcome.
According to Oxford, “endgame” refers to “the final stage of a game such as chess or bridge, when few pieces or cards remain.” There is an equivalent term in Japanese that is used in board games such as shogi and go: yose. I have no idea if whoever subtitled it did not know what the term meant, or if they decided to change it on purpose. We’ll never know.
That’s about it for now. Here are some other things I noticed:
- Squidward appears as イカ野郎 ika yarou (translation: squid scum)
- The names The Beatles, Footloose, and Flash Gordon remain the same.
- No mention of Ben and Jerry’s, and the ice cream flavor names are changed slightly
Please let use know if you liked the article. If there’s enough interest, we’ll review more Western films with Japanese subtitles.