Elder trees can grow almost anywhere and are a visible reminder of the changing seasons. The young leaves herald the return of spring, the white, bubbly, sweet-smelling flowers usher in the start of summer, the ripe berries mark the end of summer, the leaves turn red and eventually fall off, and the cold winter brings a rush of illness and discomfort, the time when the medicinal properties of the elder tree come into their own.
The ancient Britons and other Celts used to boil the elder berries in wine to make a black dye for grey hair. It is still used in the Hebrides as a dye to dye sheep black. The bark also makes a black dye. When alum is added, the leaves produce a green dye, while the berries produce blue, purple and violet dyes.
Almost all parts of the plant have medicinal properties, but today it is mainly the fruit and flowers that are used, such as elderflower wine and cordials (Ref3) flavoured with elderflower flowers, as well as jam and wine made from elderflower berries. Because, elderberry root from North America is toxic and the leaves and bark of elderberry are very dangerous to use in lay therapy.
The Elder Mother (Ref4) was believed to reside within the Elder Tree. She was said to inflict vengeance magic on anyone who harmed the tree and punished anyone who used any part of the tree for selfish purposes.
Across northern Europe, Elderberry is associated with death, rebirth and witchcraft, and is the tree most often used to break evil curses. The ancient Celts believed that how people saw and remembered them for the way they lived in this world would determine their reputation after death in the underworld. That is why the most important thing for them was to die with pride and dignity, and to respect others after death.
On a dark winter's day, the Elder tree holds up a mirror to us that reflects our true selves. Can you die with dignity and without regrets, it asks.
Volume 1 of the MF manga! A follow up of my re-translation of volume 2. Once again, I'll also redirect you to @radiant-featherball's post and @the-crow-binary's comments on the French translation.
English: "Demonic alchemy. Some used powerful demonic forces to create servant devils loyal only to their creator. It was said only two seekers had successfully achieved this horrible feat."
"Devil Forging. Originating from great magical power, it’s a demonic technique to create a familiar (Innocent Devil) that is loyal only to oneself. It is said that there are only two people in this world who have mastered this abominable technique."
In the text, "Innocent Devil" is written in furigana over "familiar". Also yes, the translator was really struggling with the terminology :P
I wanted to keep some nuances in certain words. I'd translate 忌まわしい as "abominable" to reflect Hector calling himself an "abomination" (忌むべき) later on. Also 極める has the general meaning of carrying to the extreme, reaching the peak, or exhausting something: it emphasizes how Hector and Isaac are true masters of the craft.
Isaac speaks in perfect keigo when summoned by Dracula... except when he starts bragging about how humans are no match for them, or how they will repent for their sins. Only he could swing between unpeccable formality to his Lord and casual ravings <3
English: "It was truly, jaw-droppingly easy."
Japanese: "実に実にあっけなく。"
"It was truly, truly disappointing."
As pointed out, the nuance is slightly different, and even more insulting.
(this is very minor, but when Isaac talks about "well-trained monks", he uses the word 鍛錬, which literally means "tempering metal". Considering that the 精錬 in 悪魔精錬士 means both "refining metal" and "training", I wonder if it's an intentional pun)
English: "Calling himself the genuine vampire hunter, this heir to an insolent and disgusting clan dares to bear a grudge against us."
Japanese: "真正ヴァンパイアハンターを名乗り、我々に仇なす忌々しい一族の世跡ぎ。"
"He claims to be a genuine vampire hunter, and is the heir of an infuriating family that resents us."
(I don't think the word 世跡ぎ exists. I only found 跡継ぎ and 世継ぎ)
There is a difference between "a" genuine vampire hunter and "the" genuine vampire hunter, and to me the former makes more sense. Although I like to imagine Isaac is accusing Trevor of being so arrogant that he believes to be the only real deal :P
Also, it's not him who bears a grudge, it's the entire clan. Although why is Isaac telling this to Dracula, who knows the Belmonts much better than he ever could, that I don't know.
Interesting that 忌々しい, which has the connotations of being "annoying", was split into the much stronger "insolent" and "disgusting". Good for the translator.
As pointed out, what the narration calls "Evil Lords" in English is actually the singular Evil God (邪神) mentioned in the Japanese manual of Dracula's Curse.
English: "Having molded the territory as he pleased..."
Japanese: "自分の領土を思うがままになぶり尽くした彼は..."
"Having toyed and used his territory to his heart’s content..."
Nothing major, but I like the usage of the verbs なぶる, "to play with, to fiddle with", and 尽くす, "to use up, to exhaust". "To mold" is a perfectly good translation, but those verbs convey the idea of just how much of a tyrant Dracula is. Also, the territory was "his".
English: "Like today, just because my dad hasn't come home, you don't have to…"
Japanese: "今日だって俺の父ちゃんが帰ってこないからって別に…"
"It's not like my dad isn't coming home today…"
The return of Ted's father gets hyped up in this first section, before of course the reveal that the werewolf killed him already. In Japanese it's clearer that Ted is still clinging onto the hope that he'll come back soon.
English: "The fact that he was hurt and ended up at the church... it might have been God's will."
Japanese: "あの人が傷ついて辿り着いた先が教会だったのも、神様の思し召しかもしれない。"
"He was hurt, and he found his way to the church; perhaps it was God’s will.
辿り着くhas a specific connotation of "finally reaching your destination", after much effort and hardship. To me, it carries the implication that Rosaly thinks that Hector has found salvation thanks to God, no matter the sins he has committed.
思し召し is also an interesting word. It's the honorific word for "thought, opinion". It's also used to indicate fondness.
English: "You're too nice!"
Japanese: "やっぱりお人好しすぎるって言ってんの"
"I told you! You’re too much of a good person!"
I don't know why all this emphasis was eliminated. This is Ted getting lowkey frustrated at Rosaly's endless optimism regarding Hector, who she's 100% convinced to be a good person because... he has pretty eyes and birds seem to like him :P also this calls back to a previous conversation they had, where Ted also called Rosaly "too nice" because she overworks herself for small rewards.
お人好し also has the connotation of being simple or naive, which is what Rosaly looks to everyone's eyes.
English: "If I was one of those people whose hobby was to save others, like some hero in a well-told story, then maybe I would have been happy to save you. But unfortunately, I'm not one of those people."
"If I were a person who enjoyed helping people, like the heroes in popular tales, I might have gladly helped both of you… But unfortunately, I am not that kind of person."
The English translation sounds a bit weird. The よく in よくある can mean both "good" and "often", and in this context the expression means "something common, popular, that occurs frequently". And while 趣味 does mean "hobby", it just sounds weird in the context of being a hero, at least with this serious language; it likely means a more general "something you enjoy doing".
English: "So you weren't dead after all... were you, Hector?"
Japanese: «やはり死んではいなかったか…» "…ヘクターが?"
"So you weren’t dead, were you…" "… Hector is…?"
As @radiant-featherball said, the two boxes are two different dialogues. The second one is a transition to the flashback with Dracula.
English: "Hector... I hesitate to considerate the possibility, but..."
Japanese: "へくター… まさかとは思うが…"
"Hector... it's absurd to think so, but..."
The English translation is perfectly fine, but in comparison, it's just a little too soft :) the idea that Hector would willingfully run away is absurd to Dracula :) he's rejecting the idea by instinct :)
The page with Isaac and his underlings is just rife with things to point out :P
English:
"To have us search for someone who may not even be alive? The Count must be mad."
"That's true."
"Even though Sir Hector, along with Sir Isaac, led both wings of our army... If both were gone, then there would be plans in case of emergency, but..."
"Oh well... it means that the Count favors Lord Hector that much..."
"Searching for someone who we don’t even know if he’s alive or not? The Count is having a tantrum."
"For sure."
"Although Sir Hector and Sir Isaac lead both wings of our army… If both of them are absent, there’s a chance the worst-case scenario might happen…"
"Well… The Count cherishes Sir Hector this much…"
酔狂 means "whim, caprice, eccentricity". I love it even more than accusing Dracula of being insane lol. It's just the whim of a Lord. They aren't taking him seriously at all :P
Rather than talking about a plan of emergency (what plan?), it makes more sense that they're sharing Isaac's doubts of the dangers of leaving the castle unprotected.
As it has been pointed out in the past :P 可愛がる does mean "to show favoritism to", but it has connotations of affection, pampering and doting. They are literally calling Hector Dracula's special boy 😂
tl;dr absolute kings, but also maybe don't be like that under isaac's nose, no wonder he killed you :P
English: "No matter how much I prayed, no matter how much I knelt, God would do nothing for me."
Japanese: "いくら祈ろうとすがろうと、神は何もしてくれはしない。"
"No matter how much you pray to God, or cling to him, he won’t do anything for you."
This is ambiguous. The line in Japanese has no subject, but both translations work. Either Hector is talking about his experiences and what led him to seek power from Dracula, or he's talking in a general sense, what he used to believe and perhaps still does.
I cannot help but notice, however, the use of the word "cling to" (すがる), because in PtR Hector uses it in the context of clinging to Dracula. Very... interesting accidental parallel.
(pronouns about God deliberately keps in small caps because Hector doesn't bother with honorifics :P)
"Cursed power brings nothing but unhappiness" - I believe the actual translation is "misfortune" (不幸), but both work. "Misfortune" makes more sense in the general context, but I also like the idea of Hector admitting he was unhappy during his stay at the castle.
Some nitpicks. "A place where God is celebrated" should be a more natural "They probably worship God" ("おそらくは神を祭る"). And "I thought that one day we would face each other to the death" would be better as "I knew the day would come when you and I would kill each other" ("いつかお前とは殺し合う日が来ると思っていたよ").
When little Julia starts to complain that she's tired, Isaac's response is a dry "駄目だ", which in this context more or less means "Too bad". Poor Julia...
English: "In following the Devil's path, he became an undead who surpassed all human knowledge."
Japanese: "魔道の追求者にして人知を超えた不死者。"
"An undead beyond human understanding, a pursuer of black magic."
A typical case of a too-literal translation. Technically it makes sense, but 人知を超えた (which means "surpassing human knowledge") is a fixed expression, and it slightly changes the tone; in the English translation he comes off as a holder of ancient knowledge, while in the Japanese original text he comes off as monstrous.
Same for 魔道, which technically can be split into "Devil's path", but actually means "heresy" or "black magic".
As pointed out by @radiant-featherball, when Isaac tries to create a Fairy, he actually uses the Devil Forging formula heard in CoD, which differs from the English version. (also it's complete, there's no line missing :P) Here it is for posterity:
Demonic powers, converge here!
Play the melody of a soul without reason,
under my command,
a person not of the human world.
Innocent soul, be born and come forth!
English: "Since when have you become so kind? Talk! What do you want from me?"
Japanese: "お前らはいつからそんな親切な存在になった?言え!俺にいったい何の用だ?"
"Since when have the lot of you become such kind creatures? Speak! What the hell do you need me for?"
It's plural. Isaac really, really doesn't like succubi in general :)
I don't think we talk enough about the uncomfortable implications that Isaac had bad experiences with succubi, or maybe just this one, in the past...
When the Succubus says "And moreover... you have a strong... strong... scent of desire about you...", the word for "desire" is 欲望, which has also the connotations of greed and lust. Interesting word to describe Isaac: he does incarnate greed, in a way, mostly in how desperate he is to prove himself. Were he an adult in this scene, I'd say he incarnates both sins, but he's a teen here and the Succubus is preying on him so I'd rather not :)
And there you have it! Like I said the previous time, the official translation is good, but you can spot some unnatural, too literal phrasing. I'm happy that I had the chance to read it in original, and I hope you also find the nuances interesting!
This is the time of year for trees to grow extra young leaves and photosynthesise fully, so that they can hold up through the harsh winter. And yet, now there are too many cars on the street and they are in the way, so I cut them down a bit.
"This is the only time of year when you can get a good dose of sunlight. So avoid long trousers, put your arms and legs out to the max, get outside and get some vitamin D." As I cut, I remembered the advice of my GP in London.
Trees are much cleverer than we are.
I am all for building domed cities in the desert. Wastelands where forests cannot grow, where animals and other creatures cannot live, inhabited by clever people who can develop technologies and techniques to utilise them and stop destroying nature by leaving it alone. It's a human zoo. If we are the ones living in the cages, not the animals in the cages, the planet will be effectively protected.
People will no longer abuse bears or anything else because bears have appeared in residential areas. It's because they destroyed the forest, which was originally a bear living area, and turned it into a residential area. The bears must be surprised and annoyed because they are shot dead for just hanging around with their cubs in their own yard.
Only humans destroy the natural environment, while all other living creatures have the proper ability to assimilate and live with the whole forest. It would be better to put the most harmful humans in domes and skyscrapers that artificially reproduce the natural environment and let them live on their own.
I would be the first to go. Oops, nope, they may not let me go....Because there will always be people who are discriminated against and aren't allowed to go, has to be me.
At that point, I will just have to try my best to survive like a caveman from the age of dinosaurs outside the domes.
Was it a gorilla to make eye contact with if encountered? Was it the bear who should not make eye contact? Which was which? I still can't remember. If I get this wrong, I'm in trouble.