Translation is Hard: 5 Obstacles to a Good Translation

There seems to be a lot of discourse on anime subtitle translation these days. The louder voices on Twitter tend to defend localized, less literal translations. I've been wanting to write a post on some of my own experiences with translation, but I've also been going through a bit of a burnout. Here it is…

Ballad of Mulan: Translation and Interpretation

So, I... translated a Chinese ballad for no particular reason! A bit of a change from the usual anime reviews. I don't know how common this knowledge is, but Disney's movie Mulan (1998) was based on an anonymously written Chinese ballad from the North Wei Dynasty (386-534 CE). The Disney movie is fairly faithful to…

Celebrating 300 Followers on the Moyatorium

I'm very grateful to announce that this blog gathered 300 followers last week! The current follower count is at 307 (+3 email followers, don't ask me how). Many many thanks, people, for reading my somewhat inconsistent content! I totally should I did consider doing a Q&A, but I answer almost all the award tags that…

[Translyrics] “Sprinter” and Kara no Kyoukai: Paradox Spiral

Finally, here's the Kalafina-sung ED of Kara no Kyoukai: Mujun Rasen/ Spiral Paradox - my favourite Kalafina song for the longest time. All four of Kalafina's members at the time got to showcase their unique voices in juicy, layered harmonies. I do regret to say that I feel like my translyrics haven't done it justice…

[Translyrics] “ARIA” and Kara no Kyoukai: The Hollow Shrine

Back with another of my singable lyric translations for KnK. This one is the ED of the fourth movie, Garan no Dou (The Hollow Shrine). I think I'm really starting to get the hang of this... It was difficult translating the concept of "garan" (伽藍), which you'll see more on in my notes at the…

[Translyrics] “Wound” and Kara no Kyoukai: Lingering Sensation of Pain

This is one of my favourite songs in the series, because Fujino's arc absolutely destroyed me. Again, for those unfamiliar with translyrics, it is simply a translation of lyrics that can be sung with the same melody even after being translated. This ED, "Wound," is dedicated to Fujinon. Wound (傷跡) From the silence I come,…

[Translyrics] “You Turn It into Light” and Kara no Kyoukai: Murder Inspection (Pt. 1)

Here's ED2 of the Kara no Kyoukai series. I added some notes on translating and some of my thoughts related to the song and film at the end. 君が光に変えて行く (You Turn It into Light) Somebody calls my name beyond the greens Their whispers cross the waters with the breeze Reflecting on the darkness in remorse…

割れたリンゴ(Wareta Ringo)/Broken-off Apple [Eng lyrics]

So this is my first content post! Shinsekai Yori is an anime that has been one of my favorites for a while. Its gorgeous ending themes and OSTs hold a special place in my heart. I always regretted the lack of an OP theme in that show, but at the same time, no OP gives…