Atashinchi no Danshi Episode 2 - Notes of Doom
I thought this episode was pretty straightforward, but as it turns out, there were quite a few things to explain.
Gravure Idol - “Gravure” refers to a type of printing method of magazines, so “Gravure Idol” refers to “picture idols,” girls who become famous posing in a specific kind of magazine aimed at men. They range from sweet/innocent photos (of younger girls) to the more sexy swimwear/lingerie/scantily clad pictures of women in their late teens-twenties. There is, of course, a wiki article.
“Yamakawa Yutaka. His debut song is… Hakodate Honsen” - I think we’re going to get lots of information about Yamakawa-san as the series goes on. The video is of him singing “Hakodate Honsen.”
“Help,” Request, “After” - These are all notes we originally wrote for GiraGira, with a couple of additions specific to AnD. If you’re interested in the inner workings of a host club, we recommend checking that series out, or going through the notes here.
The Help - this is a position in a host club. Generally, the newer or less popular hosts take this role. It is the Help’s job to handle the details: make sure there’s always fresh ice, make sure the lighter has lighter fuel in it, bring the drinks, etc. They are also there as a foil to make the main host look good. They turn the customer’s attention toward the main host and make sure she feels lucky to have been allowed to be with him. Then, if they’re good, they fade away without leaving a ripple in the conversation.
Takeru is not very good at this position.
Request - In our translations, we talk about “requesting” a certain host for an extended period of time. The word they use in Japanese is “shimei,” which means to “designate” or “name.” It implies that the person doing the shimei-ing ranks above the person getting shimei-ed. In the host club system, a customer is generally expected to pick a certain host that she sees on a regular basis - a designated host. This host then takes on the responsibility of keeping her happy while also receiving a percentage of any money she spends in the club, whether she spends it with him or not. The money gets added to his totals and he has a better chance of reaching the “Number Class,” the top earners in a particular club.
You’ll notice from the first episode that Sho was number 1 at the club he left, and that he’s listed as number 3 at the club he’s currently at.
Kozue actually says “Sho kara Takeru-kun ni norikaechaou tto.” “Norikae” is used for things like “switching/changing trains (such as during a commute),” and is a reference to “shimei” being equated with “seki” (seat) - a guaranteed seat with a certain host. So, she’s making a reference to “changing seats,” which is changing her official “request” with the club.
“After” - Hosts are expected to maintain contact with their customers outside of normal business hours. This extends into regular “dates” during the day, or going somewhere with a customer “after” the club closes. The “after” activities can be simply going to one (or several) other bars, or off to a hotel (as with Kozue and Takeru). Some hosts choose not to participate in these “after” activities, but it is encouraged by many clubs.
People say things, and that’s what makes “trust.” - Kanji (Chinese characters) are ideographic symbols that can be made up of several different parts. Sometimes the combination makes sense, as in “shinjiru” (belief/trust), and other times it’s more abstract.
Tanabe (the farmer) writes the character as he’s explaining. The first part is “hito” (person), as written when used in combination with other symbols, and the second part is “iu” (to say). Together, they make “shinjiru.” Phrases like this are helpful when trying to remember how to write the characters, since kanji themselves are written left to right, top to bottom.
Kinpachi - Refers to the show, “3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei” (3rd Year Class B Kinpachi-sensei). The show is remade every few years, and focuses on a teacher (Kinpachi-sensei) who takes on a class beset with personal and social problems faced in modern Japanese schools.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinpachi-sensei
“Smooth and shiny” - The tune Takeru is singing the words to is a famous kids song about a monkey. (Orie, the daughter in GiraGira, sang the song a lot. It also appeared recently in “Love Shuffle,” because Airu’s nickname is “AiAi.”)
Igarashi-gumi - “Gumi” means group, and is often used to refer to a Yakuza clan. The leader is called “Kumichou” (Group leader / “Boss”).
“Shut up, you tramp!”/”amazura” and swearing in Japan - Okay, so if you input “amazura” into a Japanese to English dictionary it will give you the word “bitch” as the translation. However, if you look in a Japanese to Japanese dictionary, it will give you the synonyms "surekkarashi" (brazen hussy) and "otenba" (tomboy). Obviously, in English the feeling of the first one and the feeling of the second two are completely different. The first one is much more offensive to us. Also, you probably wouldn’t be allowed to use that word on a 9pm weeknight show in the US. So, what is a translator to do? We opted to go with a less offensive word in English even though the impact of all three of those words in Japanese is roughly the same.
Japanese swearing doesn’t seem to translate well into English. Some of it has to do with what is considered taboo or “dirty” in each culture, and some of it has to do with what people think is important. For example, the word “omae” is one you’ll hear a lot in Japanese dramas, especially if the story centers around males. The word is a disrespectful way of saying “you,” and literally means, “in front of me.” The Japanese “temee” is similar in that it is composed of the kanji for “hand” and “in front of.” It’s another disrespectful way of saying “you,” and is generally translated as “you bastard,” but it was originally used as a humble way of referring to oneself, something a merchant would use when speaking to a noble, for example. Another word that gets translated as “bastard” a lot is “yarou” which is composed of the characters “field/rustic” and “son.” A literal translation might be something like “country boy.” This is not to say that these words are not powerful expletives, because they are, but the root of their power lies in a slightly different place than we are used to.
It is also interesting to note that words like “yarou,” “omae,” “temee,” and “kuso” are all used in shows aimed at kids, like in their Sunday morning cartoon shows and in Hero shows like Kamen Rider. We would never put words like “bastard” and “shit” in a kids cartoon…And the Japanese don’t do it because they care less about their children, they do it because the impact of the words is not the same as their usual English translations…
Gravure Idol - “Gravure” refers to a type of printing method of magazines, so “Gravure Idol” refers to “picture idols,” girls who become famous posing in a specific kind of magazine aimed at men. They range from sweet/innocent photos (of younger girls) to the more sexy swimwear/lingerie/scantily clad pictures of women in their late teens-twenties. There is, of course, a wiki article.
“Yamakawa Yutaka. His debut song is… Hakodate Honsen” - I think we’re going to get lots of information about Yamakawa-san as the series goes on. The video is of him singing “Hakodate Honsen.”
Click to view“Help,” Request, “After” - These are all notes we originally wrote for GiraGira, with a couple of additions specific to AnD. If you’re interested in the inner workings of a host club, we recommend checking that series out, or going through the notes here.
The Help - this is a position in a host club. Generally, the newer or less popular hosts take this role. It is the Help’s job to handle the details: make sure there’s always fresh ice, make sure the lighter has lighter fuel in it, bring the drinks, etc. They are also there as a foil to make the main host look good. They turn the customer’s attention toward the main host and make sure she feels lucky to have been allowed to be with him. Then, if they’re good, they fade away without leaving a ripple in the conversation.
Takeru is not very good at this position.
Request - In our translations, we talk about “requesting” a certain host for an extended period of time. The word they use in Japanese is “shimei,” which means to “designate” or “name.” It implies that the person doing the shimei-ing ranks above the person getting shimei-ed. In the host club system, a customer is generally expected to pick a certain host that she sees on a regular basis - a designated host. This host then takes on the responsibility of keeping her happy while also receiving a percentage of any money she spends in the club, whether she spends it with him or not. The money gets added to his totals and he has a better chance of reaching the “Number Class,” the top earners in a particular club.
You’ll notice from the first episode that Sho was number 1 at the club he left, and that he’s listed as number 3 at the club he’s currently at.
Kozue actually says “Sho kara Takeru-kun ni norikaechaou tto.” “Norikae” is used for things like “switching/changing trains (such as during a commute),” and is a reference to “shimei” being equated with “seki” (seat) - a guaranteed seat with a certain host. So, she’s making a reference to “changing seats,” which is changing her official “request” with the club.
“After” - Hosts are expected to maintain contact with their customers outside of normal business hours. This extends into regular “dates” during the day, or going somewhere with a customer “after” the club closes. The “after” activities can be simply going to one (or several) other bars, or off to a hotel (as with Kozue and Takeru). Some hosts choose not to participate in these “after” activities, but it is encouraged by many clubs.
People say things, and that’s what makes “trust.” - Kanji (Chinese characters) are ideographic symbols that can be made up of several different parts. Sometimes the combination makes sense, as in “shinjiru” (belief/trust), and other times it’s more abstract.
Tanabe (the farmer) writes the character as he’s explaining. The first part is “hito” (person), as written when used in combination with other symbols, and the second part is “iu” (to say). Together, they make “shinjiru.” Phrases like this are helpful when trying to remember how to write the characters, since kanji themselves are written left to right, top to bottom.
Kinpachi - Refers to the show, “3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei” (3rd Year Class B Kinpachi-sensei). The show is remade every few years, and focuses on a teacher (Kinpachi-sensei) who takes on a class beset with personal and social problems faced in modern Japanese schools.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinpachi-sensei
“Smooth and shiny” - The tune Takeru is singing the words to is a famous kids song about a monkey. (Orie, the daughter in GiraGira, sang the song a lot. It also appeared recently in “Love Shuffle,” because Airu’s nickname is “AiAi.”)
Igarashi-gumi - “Gumi” means group, and is often used to refer to a Yakuza clan. The leader is called “Kumichou” (Group leader / “Boss”).
“Shut up, you tramp!”/”amazura” and swearing in Japan - Okay, so if you input “amazura” into a Japanese to English dictionary it will give you the word “bitch” as the translation. However, if you look in a Japanese to Japanese dictionary, it will give you the synonyms "surekkarashi" (brazen hussy) and "otenba" (tomboy). Obviously, in English the feeling of the first one and the feeling of the second two are completely different. The first one is much more offensive to us. Also, you probably wouldn’t be allowed to use that word on a 9pm weeknight show in the US. So, what is a translator to do? We opted to go with a less offensive word in English even though the impact of all three of those words in Japanese is roughly the same.
Japanese swearing doesn’t seem to translate well into English. Some of it has to do with what is considered taboo or “dirty” in each culture, and some of it has to do with what people think is important. For example, the word “omae” is one you’ll hear a lot in Japanese dramas, especially if the story centers around males. The word is a disrespectful way of saying “you,” and literally means, “in front of me.” The Japanese “temee” is similar in that it is composed of the kanji for “hand” and “in front of.” It’s another disrespectful way of saying “you,” and is generally translated as “you bastard,” but it was originally used as a humble way of referring to oneself, something a merchant would use when speaking to a noble, for example. Another word that gets translated as “bastard” a lot is “yarou” which is composed of the characters “field/rustic” and “son.” A literal translation might be something like “country boy.” This is not to say that these words are not powerful expletives, because they are, but the root of their power lies in a slightly different place than we are used to.
It is also interesting to note that words like “yarou,” “omae,” “temee,” and “kuso” are all used in shows aimed at kids, like in their Sunday morning cartoon shows and in Hero shows like Kamen Rider. We would never put words like “bastard” and “shit” in a kids cartoon…And the Japanese don’t do it because they care less about their children, they do it because the impact of the words is not the same as their usual English translations…