Situation: The Japanese voicelines of Hifumi’s iconic speech in Volume 3, Chapter 3, Episode 19, are different in the JP and Global versions.
Analysis: The new Global voicelines match the KR perfectly, one example being the “overcoming adversity through friendship” line. The original JP uses the word norikoeru for “to overcome,” whereas the Global Japanese voicelines use kokufuku-suru. There is essentially no difference in meaning between the two words in Japanese, except that kokufuku 克服 is a Chinese-character compound and therefore slightly more stiff. In a word, norikoeru sounds better for the Japanese context.
However, Korean tends to use a lot more Chinese-character compounds in everyday speech compared to Japanese, even though Chinese characters are no longer in widespread use in Korea. Indeed, the word chosen for “to overcome” here is kŭkbok 극복, which is the same word as kokufuku, just pronounced in Korean rather than Japanese. This example suggests that the new Japanese voicelines in Global were written to match the KR translation, rather than the KR translation being written to match the Japanese voicelines used in the JP version.
Meanwhile, the Global EN translation seems to still follow the original JP script, NOT the new Global voicelines. Take, for example, the “Friends picking each other up when they’re down” line. This is clearly a translation of the original JP voiceline. The new Global Japanese voiceline would translate to something like, “Stories where everyone ends up with a smile, even if it’s childish.” This creates a strange gap between the English text and the Japanese voicelines, a gap not present in the KR translation. There is one notable exception, which is the last line (“our youth and our school days”). The “school days” part is only present in the new Global voicelines.
Conclusion: Two separate voice recordings were created to match the JP and KR translations. For whatever reason, the EN translation follows the JP version and not the Global, with the exception of the last line.
Key:
JP Japanese Voice + Fan Translation
Global Japanese Voice + EN
Rough, Literal Translation of Global Japanese Voice = KR (only where different)
アズサちゃんが人殺しになるのは嫌です…
I don’t want Azusa-chan to become a murderer…
アズサちゃんが人殺しになるのは嫌です…
I don’t want you to be a murderer, Azusa.
そんな暗くて憂鬱なお話、私は嫌なんです。
Dark and depressing stories like that…I can’t stand them!
そんな…そんな憂鬱で不愉快な物語、後味の悪い物語は…
Those kind of dark and depressing stories..are the worst!
それが真実だって、この世界の本質だって言われても、私は好きじゃないんです！
You can tell me they’re the truth, or that’s how the world works, but I still won’t like them!
もしそれが正しいとしても、この世界の真実だとしても…私は好きじゃありません！
Even if what they’re saying is true - even if that’s how the world works sometimes…that doesn’t have to be how our stories are told!
私には、好きなものがあります！
There’s one thing that I really love!
私は平凡なのが好きです！
I like cliches!
平凡で、大した個性もない私ですが…自分が好きなものについては、絶対に譲れません！
I’m ordinary, and not very unique…but when it comes to things I love, I NEVER back down!
平凡で、何の個性もない私ですが、私の…この好きな気持ちだけは…誰にも譲るつもりはありません！
So what if I’m ordinary or there’s nothing special about me? I’m not ashamed of who I am or what I believe in!
友情で苦難を乗り越え
Overcoming adversity through friendship,
友情で苦難を克服して
Overcoming adversity through friendship…
努力がきちんと報われて
Hard work paying off,
努力がけなされなくて
Hard work paying off…
辛いことは慰めて、お友達と慰め合って…！
Friends comforting each other when the going gets rough…!
幼稚であっても、最後にみんなが笑えるような物語
Friends picking each other up when they’re down…
苦しいことがあっても…誰もが最後は、笑顔になれるような！
Even after pain and suffering…everyone ends up with a smile!
最後はみんなが幸せになる物語
And always putting on a smile no matter how hard things get!
そんなハッピーエンドが私は好きなんです！！
I love happy endings like that!!
そんな平凡な物語が好きです！
I love happy endings like that!
誰が何と言おうとも、何度だって言い続けてみせます！
I’ll say it again and again, no matter what anyone tells me!
誰であろうと、私たちに強要はできません！
And I’m not ashamed to say it. Nothing will change my mind!
私たちの描くお話は、私たちが決めるんです！
WE are the ones who get to decide how our story goes!
私たちが作っていく物語は私たちが決めます！
We’re the ones who pen our futures and no one else!
終わりになんてさせません、まだまだ続けていくんです！
I won’t let you end it here. There’s still more to be told!
ですから、今から始めます
So I refuse to let things end here!
私たちの物語…
This is OUR story…
私たちの物語を
These are our stories!
私たちの、青春の物語を！！
The story of our youth!!
学園の青春物語を！
The tales of our youth and our school days!