 |
Her Majesty Queen Natsuko Toda's
Hall of ShameFame
Behold mortals, and tremble!
Magnificent are the deeds of the Queen of Subtitles!
|
 |
At the present time, In a country far, far east...
Episode IV -- A New Despair
Ms. Natsuko Toda is the most infamous movie translator
in Japan, sometimes called as "The Queen of Subtitles".
She is brave enough to translate Peter Jackson's
"The Lord of the Rings"
without ever reading any
of Tolkien's works. For more detail,
see
this article at
TheOneRing.Net news archive.
From "The Lord of the Rings: The Felowship of the Ring"
E:Original script
J:Toda's Japanese subtitles translated back into English
(Boromir talking about Denethor)
E:My father is a noble man, J:My father was a noble man,
(Don't kill Denethor!)
(Boromir urges Frodo not to go to Mordor)
Boromir: E:"Why do you recoil? I am no thief."
Frodo: E:"You are not yourself!" J: "Don't tell a lie!"
(Don't tell a lie, Ms. Toda!)
(Boromir's last word to Aragorn)
E:"Our people, our people!" J:"Our race! Mankind!"
(Begging your pardon, sir!
But he's a-talking about the people of Gondor, I'm sure!)
(Aragorn to Frodo)
E:I would have gone with you to the end, into the very fires of Mordor.
J:If I [could/can], I [would have shared/will share] your doom.
(The tense is not explicitly shown in Japanese subtitle and both
interpretations apply. But the later meaning is stronger)
(Galadriel to Frodo)
E(lvish):Namarie J:Take care
(Begging your pardon, sir! But I know the Lady meant "Farewell".)
From "Star Wars Episode 1"
(explanation of Jar-Jar)
E:"A local" J:"A Localian" (a creature of planet "Local"?!)
'I say to you, Japanese Star Wars geeks, not till now have I understood
the tale of your grief and toil. As wicked nerds I scorned them,
but I pity them at last. For if this is indeed, as the geeks say,
the one way to watch the movie, it is bitter to accept...'
--- LotR, Appendix A
'But come, Ms.Toda, the Queen of subtitles!' he went on in his soft
voice again. 'To every maiden her part. Amount and quickness of work is
yours, and you win high honour thereby. Translate that which your lord
names as craps, and be content. Meddle not in policies which you do
not understand.'
--- LotR, "The Voice of Saruman"
"In place of the
Dark Lord you will set up a Queen of Subtitles!
... All shall love me and despair!"
--- LotR, "The Mirror of Galadriel"
"Don't hurt us with nasty cruel words!
Let us live, yes, live just a little longer in the
Japanese movie industry. Lost, lost! We're lost."
--- LotR, "Mount Doom"