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antiquity1111 · 1 year

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BNHA 253-255 Kurogiri-Aizawa Japanese to English Translation Pt.I

In light of the latest chapter of BNHA, I thought I’d review and translate the Shirakumo chapters of the manga to give us all a refresher on who Shirakumo is, and I don’t just mean in relation to Aizawa and Yamada; I mean as a human. What kind of person is he? What kind of Hero is he?

NOTE: This post is LONG, so I had to break it into two parts. Part I covers No.253-254. Part II covers No.255.

もっとスピード出せないのか

= “Can’t you speed up some more?”

うるせーな落ち着けよ

= “Shut up and calm down.”

USJで戦った... そんな素振り... 微塵も———...

= “When we fought at USJ... the way he acted... I didn’t have the slightest suspicion...”

趣味が悪いにも... 程がある

= “There is a limit... even for poor taste.”

Contextually, Aizawa is saying, "Their evil knows no bounds.”

俺あ... 塚内さん達の勘違いに賭ける

= “I... bet Tsukauchi-san and the others misunderstood / have the wrong impression.”

二人も知っている通り

= “As you both know,”

脳無は人の手によって身体を改造され複数の“個性”に耐えられるようになった人間だ

= “Noumu are corpses that have been altered / modified / reconstructed by human hands to become capable of supporting / tolerating multiple Quirks.”

The literal translation for Noumu (脳無) is “no brain / brainless.”

ただし生きた人間じゃない

= “But they are not living people.”

脳みそから心臓に至るまでめちゃくちゃにされてる

= “Everything from their hearts to their brains has been scrambled.”

脳無とは正しく人形意思持たぬ操り人形

= “Noumu are just dolls / puppets, marionettes on strings without wills of their own.”

のハズだった

= “They were supposed to be [anyway].”

グラントリノさんこっちは授業卜ばして来てるんです

= “Gran Torino-san, I am missing class to be here.”

簡潔にお願いします

= “Please be brief.”

相澤

= “Aizawa.”

必要な話だよ順を追おう気持ちの整理をつける為にも

= “It is necessary that we talk through this step by step so that you are prepared as well.”

こいつは敵連合の中核

= “This guy / thing is central to the League of Villains.”

Gran Torino uses こいつ (romaji: koitsu) for Kurogiri. It can mean “he; she; this guy, this person; this; this thing.” It is impolite and can be vulgar (= highly offensive) when used to refer to someone with whom one does not share a close relationship, as is the case here. For context, as an interjection, こいつ translates into English as something like “hey, you!” or “you bastard!” or “damn you!” Gran Torino is disrespecting Kurogiri, and he is doing so even knowing that Kurogiri was created using a deceased Hero student as his base, or maybe because of it?

This is my first time translating Gran Torino, but I suspect he always speaks “gruff” like this. “Tough guy” talk and toxic masculinity—y’all know how it is. Fictional characters are significantly more likely to use coarse language than actual Japanese people are. It is more noteworthy when a character deviates from their standard pattern of conduct than when they act in accordance with it. Given Japanese culture’s emphasis on good social etiquette, whether and when a character chooses to use respectful or disrespectful language can tell us something about their personality (and motives in certain contexts), worldview, and how they think about themselves in relation to others, particularly when there are discrepancies between how they speak to and about some people compared to other people.

Take Hawks, for example. His language toward Heroes like Endeavor and Best Jeanist and even toward his abusive, emotionally unavailable parents is polite and humble. He has high regard for Heroes and at least in his speech shows basic respect for his parents, despite their flagrant mistreatment of him during his childhood. (Being polite to someone ≠ actually respecting them; for example, you would probably choose your words carefully if you had a literal or metaphoric gun to your head, but that wouldn’t mean you respect the person staring down the other side of the barrel; how many people think their employer is dumber than a sack of shit but talk to them as if they think they have a brain between their temples because letting slip how they really feel would cost them the job and their livelihood?). His language toward criminals, however, like Dabi and Ujiko, is abrasive. His poor opinion of and low regard for them, even as fellow humans, is evident in how he speaks to and about them, as if they are subhuman and inferior to himself, undeserving of basic respect and compassion.

口を割らせることが出来れば一気に大元を叩けるんだが

= “If we could make him talk, then we could immediately strike the head.”

Gran Torino believes Kurogiri possesses crucial intelligence that could be the deciding factor for the imminent war and it is essential Aizawa and Present Mic do their part to assist in the acquisition of that intel.

いかんせん肝心な事は一切話そうとしない

= “Unfortunately, he will absolutely not talk about anything important.”

下らない話はするが連合の不利になる情報については

= “He will discuss trivial matters, but [he] will not divulge information that could be disadvantageous to the League of Villains.”

電源が落ちたかのようにストンと無反応になるんだ

= “[That’s when] he becomes unresponsive, as if his plug’s been pulled and he’s powered down.”

... つまり?

= “... Meaning?”

あまりに精巧でそれと気付くまでに時間がかかった

= “He’s so sophisticated, it took us a while to realize it...”

複数の因子が結合され一つの新たな“個性”になっていたんだあらこせい

= “[But] his Quirk is a novel one created by the fusion of multiple Quirk factors.”

Hypothetically, this should mean that a vestige for each person whose Quirk was combined with Shirakumo's to create Kurogiri's Warp Gate exists somewhere deep inside him. The Quirk reflects the person as much as the person reflects the Quirk. Every Quirk carries the energetic "signature" of its host's personality. Maybe that's why Kurogiri doesn't read as a perfect 1:1 for Shirakumo?

そしてそのベースになった因子———...

= “And the base [Quirk] factor was...”

かつて雄英高校で君たちと苦楽を共にし

= “... [one that belonged to someone who] once shared joys and sorrows with you all at UA High School...”

ショータ

= “Shouta!”

若くしてその命を落としたとされている男

= “... a man who lost his life at a young age.”

白雲朧のものと極めて近い事がわかった

= “[This guy’s base Quirk factor] is a close match for Oboro Shirakumo’s.”

No.254 誰よりもおまえはヒーローに

= No.254 More Than Anyone [Else], You Are a Hero

俺たち3人なら何でも解決できると思うんだ!

= “I believe the three of us could solve [any problem]!”

白雲朧は俺と同じインターン先で亡くなった

= Oboro Shirakumo died during our internship.

3人で事務所を建てよう

= “Let’s build an office / agency for three people!”

そう言ってくれた矢先の出来事だった

= The moment he said that is when the incident happened.

さっきも言ったけどショータ細かいとこまで見てくれるし!

= “Like I said earlier, Shouta notices / is attentive to / [has a good eye for] even the most minute details!”

金で揉めんのはナシな!

= “[Sure], but only [if we agree] not to fight over money!”

倒壊する建物に巻き込まれ——... あっけない死

= [He was] crushed by a collapsing building——... [and] died quickly / suddenly.

嘗て俺たちは

= Before that...

共にヒーローを目指してた

= ... we were aiming to be Heroes together.

つまり

= “In other words...”

After that short flashback and summary of unfortunate events, Gran Torino resumes speaking with this line. His other comments have been laying the groundwork for the conclusion he has reached and is about to share with Aizawa and Present Mic.

黒霧は脳無で

= “Kurogiri is a Noumu,”

白雲の遺体がベースになっている———可能性が高いっつーことだ

= “[and] Shirakumo’s corpse became the base for this thing——or at least it’s highly likely.”

......「A組の3バカ」なんて��ばれもしたよ......

= “...... We were even called the Three Idiots / Fools of Class A......”

馬鹿 (romaji: baka) means “idiot; moron; fool; stupid; etc.” Caleb Cook, Viz’s translator, seems to have tried to be witty by translating the phrase “the Three Idiots / Fools” as “the Three DUMBigos,” as in the Three Amigos, like the Three Musketeers, but the joke falls flat, at least for me. These characters are Japanese, live in Japan, and speak Japanese. They’re being written by a Japanese man living in Japan and creating for a Japanese audience (primarily; BNHA has had international success, but the target audience remains unchanged: Japanese people). It doesn’t make sense for these characters to use Spanish words like “amigos” or “adios.” It sounds out of place and weird because it is. It would be one thing if Horikoshi wrote his characters using borrowed phrases like that, but he didn’t and he doesn’t. Caleb’s attempt at a joke is more eyeroll-inducing than funny.

意味がわかんねェよ!

= “I don’t understand what you mean!”

Notice Yamada’s furrowed brow, the crease that has formed on his forehead, the stark stress lines around the borders of his eyes, his wobbly irises and shrunken pupils, and the beads of sweat on the side of his face. He’s distraught. It’s not that he doesn’t understand. It’s that it’s breaking his heart that he does. He understands, but he can’t accept it. This news has shaken him. He’s struggling to take it all in. He doesn’t want to, but he knows he has no choice because denying reality won’t make it go away.

優れた"個性"は雄英に収束する合理的な話だろ?

= “Outstanding Quirks converge / gather at UA [High School], so it’s [perfectly] logical [to use it as a hunting ground for strong Quirks], don’t you agree?”

「目立たず三ツ星レストランの残飯を漁るようなもの」だそうだ...

= “[He said], ‘It’s like inconspicuously scavenging for leftovers from a three-star restaurant...’”

恐らく遺体を火葬する過程ですりかえ...... 脳無という狂気の玩具に変え

= “I suspect [Shirakumo’s] corpse was secretly swapped for a substitute during the cremation process...... and changed into a crazy plaything called a Noumu.”

意味なんて...... 求めちゃいねぇよDJ

= “Something like meaning / sense [in this situation]...... don’t ask / look for it, DJ.”

そこには悪意があるだけだ

= “There is only malice / malevolence in [him, this / that].”

Japanese pronouns can be dropped when they are implied by context. Because Kurogiri’s face is highlighted as this line is spoken, I am assuming the omitted pronoun would be “him (referring to AFO, with Kurogiri as proof of his evil)” or “this / that.”

... わかんねえよ!

= “... I don’t understand!”

今は眠ってる“個性”を使おうとするからな

= “He’s sleeping now [because] he tried to use his Quirk.”

何で我々を?

= “Why [are] we [here]?”

「絆による奇跡」でも期待してるなら... 大衆映画の見すぎでは?

= “Were you hoping for a ‘miracle through the bonds of friendship’...? You’ve been watching too many popular movies.”

根拠がありゃあ「奇跡」は「可能性」になる

= “If there is a basis, then a ‘miracle’ becomes a ‘possibility.’”

根拠 can mean “foundation,” which I think could also work here. Gran Torino is saying that the close bond between Aizawa, Present Mic, and Shirakumo gives the Heroes as good a chance as any to connect with their former ally (and acquire that all-important information on the League of Villains that they previously mentioned they had been unable to pry out of Kurogiri; strategy, people!).

九州でエンデヴァーが倒した脳無報告では明確な人格を有し

= “[According to] the report, the Noumu that Endeavor defeated / killed in Kyuushuu had a distinct personality.”

強者への執着を見せたそうだ

= “It had a fixation with the strong.”

I hate the word “obsessed / obsession” and reeeeallllyyyy hate how often it is used by Caleb and some fan translators to describe the Villains. Horikoshi sometimes uses it or synonyms, but other people use it or similar words more frequently than he does and it’s almost always to make the Villains sound “insane” and hurt their credibility as victims of Hero society testifying to its ills. It’s so much easier to disregard their legitimate grievances with Hero society when we convince ourselves that they’re just a bunch of “uncaring, selfish lunatics” with a “grudge” who are “acting out” and “throwing tantrums” because they “didn’t get their way.” The Heroes peddle that narrative and would love nothing more than for everyone to believe it. Don’t. Those with power and authority do not hesitate to continue abusing their victims and making new ones. Very few people whose privileged position in the world’s social hierarchy affords them rights and luxuries marginalized and oppressed others are wholeheartedly denied would willingly surrender their status and influence for the sake of leveling the playing field to create equity. That being said, 執着 (romaji: shuuchaku) does mean “obsession; fixation; attachment; adhesion; tenacity; clinging (e.g., to old customs).”

焼死体のDNA鑑定の結果あれの素体は地下格闘で生計を立てていたならず者だと判った

= “The results of a DNA analysis of the burnt corpse revealed that [the base for] that thing’s body [came from, belonged to] a thug / hoodlum / miscreant whose livelihood came from underground cage fighting.”

These lines from Gran Torino are loaded with scathing judgment, a core belief that people who make a living by nontraditional means like underground cage fighting are criminal and lesser, or altogether worthless (Mirko???). He addresses the Noumu as “that thing” (あれ, romaji: are, usually used for objects, NOT people; EXTREMELY derogatory and dehumanizing when used for a person as it implies the speaker views them as more of a thing than a person), despite knowing the Noumu are alive (and so able to be killed), have human corpses as their bases, and retain aspects of their original personalities. He is simultaneously acknowledging that the High-End Noumu Endeavor killed in Kyuushuu had a personality the Heroes were able to match to a missing person and objectifying the Noumu AND that person by calling them “that thing.”

I’ll probably offend a few people by saying this, but oh well. In No.81, Dabi affectionately calls a Noumu with eight arms and several chainsaws, a high-powered drill, and a hammer built into its body “Neko-chan (Kitty-chan),” as if it’s cute and endearing, as if he were cooing at a kitten, not a “monster” or “thing.”

In No.350, Dabi expresses disgust with Ujiko and AFO for disrespecting the dead to bioengineer the Noumu.

Why has Dabi, a Villain, shown more respect and compassion for the Noumu than any of the Heroes or police ever have?

生前の人格を残してる... と

= “The personality [of the corpse] while [they were] alive remains...?”

残念だが雄英で一戦交えてます

= “It’s unfortunate, but I fought [him] at UA.”

口調も違ったし俺に対して何の反応も示さなかった

= “His voice and manner of speaking were different [from Shirakumo], and he didn’t have any reaction to me.”

そういう実験をしてたのかもな改ざん. 或いは消去した記憶が命令遂行に与える影響——... とか

= “That might be due to their experiments... altering / falsifying, or erasing, [his] memories so that [he will] obey orders......... or something like that.”

重ねて言うがこいつが口を割れば大きな進展につながる

= “Like [we, Gran Torino] said, getting this guy / thing to talk could be a great development for us / could give us a huge lead.”

Tsukauchi’s reference to Kurogiri (こいつ, romaji: koitsu, informal, implies contempt) is also condescending. Like are, koitsu can be used for objects, which makes using it and related words for a person a bit problematic. It is impolite but is sometimes used in anime and manga between familiars, especially among male friends.

Here, Tsukauchi is speaking with his colleagues about someone else (Kurogiri). He is not disrespecting his colleagues by speaking like this, but he is disrespecting Kurogiri by using こいつ for him.

Why did the Heroes and police ask Aizawa and Present Mic to meet them? The answer is simple and has now been stated by both Gran Torino and Tsukauchi: They are hoping to exploit their friendship with Shirakumo to use Kurogiri for information that will assist them in taking down the League of Villains. Again, they’re strategizing. They’re assessing the value of the pieces on their side of the board to inform their next moves. This is how war works. Both sides do this. Take AFO, for example. He has determined that Spinner, who had negligible value early in the game, has become a high value piece, while Touya and Himiko, who had great value early in the game, have become less valuable in the final stretch, hence his telling Spinner that it was “all right” to abandon Himiko because all that mattered is that Tomura’s body and Spinner successfully escape and his rather targeted remark to Touya comparing the individuals AFO forsakes and discards to a “cheap lighter that has lost its usefulness / stopped working,” knowing damn well that Touya was cast aside like so by his own family members and that one of the kanji making up his name (燈, romaji: tou) literally refers to a gentle light or flame, like that from a lantern... or lighter. War isn’t pretty, so let’s not (try to) pretty it up.

プレゼント. マイクイレイザーヘッド

= “Present Mic. Eraserhead.”

Notice that Tsukauchi addresses Yamada and Aizawa by their Hero names. He is calling on them to fulfill their duty as Heroes by confronting all that is left of their deceased friend and classmate (and their complex grief over losing him to a sudden, violent death) on the off chance that they will be able to derive worthwhile information from him.

白雲朧の執着を呼び覚ましてほしい

= “I / we want you to awaken / evoke / recall his [former] attachments.”

呼び覚まして is the te-form of the verb 呼び覚ます (romaji: yobisamasu), meaning “to wake up (someone, by calling out); to awaken; to bring back (e.g., memories); to evoke; to recall.”

Tsukauchi is instructing Aizawa and Yamada to remind Kurogiri of his past life as Oboro Shirakumo and appeal to the emotional bond the three of them had during his lifetime. His hope is that their doing so will jog Shirakumo’s memory, allowing the Heroes to communicate with him.

In the official translation Tsukauchi tells Yamada and Aizawa to “try to awaken any attachments [Shirakumo might still have to his old life],” but he is more direct in Japanese. Horikoshi’s Tsukauchi doesn’t ask Yamada and Aizawa to try to reach through to Shirakumo. He simply says “I want you to do it” and waits for them to deliver on his request.

思い出話でもしろってかァ!?

= “[You’re] even [asking us] to reminisce on childhood memories!?”

Present Mic has every right to be upset. He and Aizawa had their daily routines interrupted just to be devastated by the shocking news that their dead friend’s corpse had been stolen, tampered with, and used as the building blocks for a sadistic science experiment; were informed that their dead friend’s likeness might live on in that sadistic science experiment; were pressured by their superiors to sit across from that sadistic science experiment and have a conversation with him because the possibility that the “power of friendship” might summon their dead friend’s spirit from beyond the grave to feed the Heroes and police intel (at Yamada and Aizawa’s expense) is just too good to pass up; and as if all of that wasn’t enough to make today the Worst Day Ever for Yamada and Aizawa, now they’re being expected to revisit memories made painful by the traumatic loss of a loved one for someone else’s benefit WITH AN AUDIENCE! This isn’t for them or for Shirakumo. This is for Hero society. But for Yamada and Aizawa, it just hurts. It’s cruel.

頼むよ

= “I am / we are imploring you [to do it].”

頼む (romaji: tanomu) is a transitive verb that usually means “to request; to beg; to ask” but can also mean “to entrust.” As a colloquialism, it translates to “please; please do.”

よ (romaji: yo) is a particle that can be used in a variety of ways. At sentence-end, like it is here, it can indicate certainty, emphasis, contempt, a request, warning, etc. Ending a request or suggestion with よ carries the nuance of sounding pushy, even demanding, and could have nagging overtones. It implies a suspicion or awareness that the listener / recipient does not share your perspective and is opposed to doing something you are in favor of doing.

Tsukauchi knows that Yamada and Aizawa are uncomfortable and do not want to be doing this, but he is pressing them to do as he asks anyway. (Please don’t pressure people to do anything they are not comfortable doing. The absence of “no” ≠ “yes.” If it’s not an enthusiastic “yes,” it’s a “no,” period. “No” is a complete sentence, even when it is only implied by weak protests or silence.)

ご遺族には?

= “This isn’t his bereaved family’s burden / responsibility?”

Present Mic is desperately trying to escape this stressful situation.

Aizawa was doing more of that earlier on when he was snapping at the driver of the car and making a point to inform Tsukauchi and Gran Torino that he had sacrificed instruction time for this. At this point, though, he’s resigned himself to appeasing his superiors, but his hardened expression and defensiveness betray how anxious he really is.

君たちでだめなら——...

= “If you two can’t do it——...”

They’ll flip Shirakumo’s surviving relatives’ lives upside down again with all these horrific revelations. Yes, yes, the fate of Hero society—of “the world”—might depend on this, but can we at least acknowledge how unkind it is to these people—Shirakumo’s friends and family, the people who actually knew and cared about him—to be bothered with this? Retraumatized by it? To have their lives upended and their relationships with him exploited? A world full of individuals matters because individuals matter. People matter. All of them. Every. single. one.

こんな気持ち悪い話を親御さんに伝えてたまるか

= “[Then you will] burden his parents [with] such a disgusting story [about their child]?”

You might have noticed that Aizawa’s sentence did not end in a “?” and so appeared to be declarative rather than interrogative. Why did I frame my translation of it as a question? か is a marker of the unknown and commonly used at sentence-end in place of a question mark. Tsukauchi’s last sentence trailed off partly because he hesitated and partly because Aizawa interrupted his emotional pause by activating Erasure. Intuiting where he was going with it, Aizawa cut him off, having relented to doing as he had been directed for the sake of sparing Shirakumo’s parents any further heartache and discomfort. Aizawa uses sonkeigo (honorific or respectful) language to refer to Shirakumo’s parents (親御さん, romaji: oyago-san), as is customary when speaking of or to someone’s parents, including your own. Still, it’s nice of him to consider their feelings and want to protect them. It also shows maturity that he can (implicitly) acknowledge that although this situation is incredibly difficult for him as Shirakumo’s friend, it would probably be even harder for his parents.

ツー...

= Zzt...

ツ is katakana, isn’t a word, and doesn’t mean anything. It’s a sound. The hiragana equivalent is the smaller っ. At the end of a word it can indicate a glottal stop, an abrupt, dry, constricted noise in your throat, where your glottis is located, that kind of sounds like your voice suddenly giving out, dropping your volume down to a whisper or less. Here, it seems to be an onomatopoeia for the staticky hiss generated by the radio as Kurogiri stirs.

起きてます

= “[He is] waking up.”

始めてくれ

= “Begin.”

おや...?

= “Oh...?”

雄英襲撃以来ですかね... 珍しい客だ

= “[Didn’t we] last meet during the attack on UA...? [What] a curious / unusual visitor [I have].”

Present Mic was right. Kurogiri doesn’t talk like a 17-year-old. He speaks too formally to sound like anything but a posh butler and/or nanny for an exceptionally wealthy family. He’s like Tomura’s own Alfred Pennyworth or Jarvis.

イレイザーが視てもモヤが消えない

= Even with Eraser staring [at him], the haze isn’t dissipating.

身体そのものがもうこういうつくりってこった

= [It’s] like they said, the body itself was intricately bioengineered [to be] like this now.

Notice the on-the-verge-of-tears wrinkle in Yamada’s chin, the dark bags under his eyes, and the exasperated sweat drop running down the side of his face. Poor man’s going through it.

やっぱ間違えてんじゃねえのか!? こいつと白雲に共通点なんざ——...

= “See!? I knew you were wrong [about him]! This guy and Shirakumo are nothing alike / have nothing in common—...”

死柄木弔は元気ですか? 捕まったりしてませんか?

= “How is Tomura Shigaraki? Is he well / in good health? Has he been captured / arrested?”

知っらねーよ!

= “We don’t know!”

そう... 残念です

= “I see... How disappointing / unfortunate / vexing / regretful.”

I included all of these potential meanings for 残念 (romaji: zannen) because I imagine that all of them are applicable. For Kurogiri, not knowing if Tomura is safe is disappointing and unfortunate (because the Heroes are unable—actually unwilling—to update him), vexing (because it’s frustrating not knowing and not being free to return to his side), and something he deeply regrets (because he was programmed to protect and caretake for Tomura Shigaraki but has not been able to do so for some time).

残念 can also mean “sad; shame; pity,” so both the official (“What a shame”) and fan (“What a pity”) translations’ versions of this line accurately reflect the Japanese. If only that were always the case!

死柄木が気になるのか

= “You’re worried about Shigaraki?”

気になる (romaji: kininaru) means “to weigh on one’s mind; to bother one; to worry about; to be concerned about; to care about; to feel uneasy; to be anxious.” It can also mean “to be interested (in); to be curious (about); to wonder (about).”

The reason I mention these other definitions is to underscore how apprehensive and on edge Kurogiri is being separated from Tomura and not knowing how he is faring. It is also worth noting that Aizawa is able to recognize and empathize with him (because he frets about his students). Kurogiri’s genuine concern for Tomura’s safety and well-being humanizes both of them to a Hero who might (not does, but could) actually care enough to do something about it: Aizawa. This is a rare moment of connection between a Hero and a Villain. Their function on their respective sides is the same. They provide their wards with protection, guidance, and support along their journeys. They care for them. They lose sleep over them. In that way, Kurogiri and Aizawa are like two sides of the same coin: back to back and facing in opposite directions but more alike than they are different (at least in this!).

ええ彼の世話が私の使命

= “Yes. Helping / looking after / attending to him is my mission.”

クソみてーな使命だな

= “Looking after [that damned brat] is a shitty mission!”

あんな陰気くせーガキンチョの面倒見るのが使命だなん......

= “What a bothersome mission, [being forced] to take care of such a chronically melancholy / gloomy / miserable brat......”

Present Mic uses several words to describe Tomura in this sentence. The first of these words is 陰気 (“gloomy; dismal; miserable; melancholy”), together with くせ (“habit (usually a bad one); tendency; peculiarity; idiosyncrasy; mannerism; quirk”) and ガキンチョ (“brat; kid; urchin; little devil”). He also characterizes caretaking for Tomura as “bothersome; tiresome; a bother to do.”

The implication seems to be that Yamada believes Tomura’s frequent choleric and morose demeanor is the result of poor character or (bad) habit rather than a symptom of complex trauma and severe mental illness, or the cause makes no difference to him because [he imagines] the result (= Tomura’s sullenness) is a pain in the ass to have to deal with either way, which is an insensitive and unkind attitude to have toward people living with mental illness. Present Mic has no way of knowing Tomura’s background, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a Hero to have more sympathy and compassion for people with obvious mental health struggles—for people in general, really. It costs nothing to be kind. Shouldn’t Heroes be kind?

苦ではありませんよ放っておけない性質なんでね

= “It is not painful / bothersome / unpleasant for me [to do it] as it is not in my nature to abandon [others].”

俺が拾えないと... やりすごした子猫を迷わず拾ってくるような奴だった

= “Even when I walked past... the kitten without picking it up, you were the kind of guy who didn’t hesitate to pick it up / take it in.”

The kitten is either climbing Shirakumo’s body to perch on his shoulder or has slipped from it, as indicated by the two motion lines at its back and nervous sweat drops flying off his little head. Shirakumo is saying, “Hang in thereeee!”

話が見えませんね何をされにここへ?

= “I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re saying. What are you doing you here?” or “I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re saying. Why are you here?”

反応なし

= “No reaction.”

中途半端で二の足踏んでばかりだった

= “I was always hesitating and half-hearted / taking half-steps...”

Interesting. Shouto says the same thing about himself in No.352 after Touya accuses him of ungratefully half-assing his way through the life Touya would have given anything to have returned to him, which Shouto unabashedly confirms he is guilty of doing (I say unabashedly because as of No.352, Shouto has accepted who he is, defined his identity on his own terms, reconciled his troubled past with the bright future he envisions for himself, and made peace with both of his parents to the degree he is able to, concluding his arc).

相澤消太か俺白雲! よろしくなショータ!

= ‘Shouta Aizawa, right? I’m Shirakumo! Pleased to meet you, Shouta!’

ショータ! しょくどうせき食堂席埋まっちまうぞ!

= ‘Shouta! The cafeteria is going to be filled up / all the seats are going to be taken!’

そんな俺を

= “[Even though] I was like that...”

俺のゴーグル貸してやるこれなら目を守りながら近付けるだろ

= ‘I’ll lend you my goggles, so you can approach [Villains] while protecting your eyes!’

おそろいだぜ!

= ‘We match!’

いつも引っ張ってくれた

= “... [you] always pulled me along.”

This is also reminiscent of Shouto’s internal monologue in No.352 about how he always felt he was lagging but his classmates in 1-A “never left anyone behind” and always gave him a place to belong and feel unconditionally supported.

ここを教会か何かと勘違いなされてる

= “Have you mistaken this place for a church confessional or something?”

おまえはいつも明るくて前だけ見てた後先なんて考えず...!

= “You were always cheerful, only looking forward without thinking about the consequences...!”

死んじまったらぜんぶお全部終わりだってのに…!

= “Even though death is the absolute end for you / it’s all over when you’re dead...!”

Obviously, Aizawa is thinking about Shirakumo here, but given that he follows this line up by sharing that he has strict rules for his students intended to prevent another tragedy like the one that took Shirakumo’s life, I think it’s fair to assume he means that death is the absolute end for everyone, so everyone should take care not to be careless with their lives.

俺山田と先生やってるよ

= “Yamada and I are teachers now.”

生徒に厳しくあたってきた

= “I’m strict with my students.”

除籍回数がえげつないって話だな

= “I hear that the number of [students] he expels is obscene.”

書類上じゃな

= “On paper it is.”

ねぇさっきイレ先凄い形相で出てったの見た?

= “Hey, just now... [did you see] Eraser’s terrifying expression when he walked out?”

いっつも凄い形相じゃん?

= “Doesn’t he always look terrifying?”

いやいつも以上だったよ俺ら除籍した時並み

= “No, it was more disagreeable / unpleasant than usual, like that time he expelled us.”

じゃあ私らん時未満だ

= “So, it wasn’t as bad as then.”

今でもうなされるよ俺「終わったっ」... つって

= “I still have nightmares [about it]... I thought it was ‘over’!”

やけどそのおかげで私ら成長できたっちゃん

= “But thanks to that, we were able to grow.”

いや注意感覚でするもんじゃないからね!? 除籍!

“Oh, come on! There isn’t [a better way] to give someone a sense of caution!? Expulsion!”

おかげで2-A全員経歴傷入りだよ!?

= “Thanks to that, everyone in 2-A has flawed / stained personal histories / resumes / records!?”

イカレイザーヘッド!!

= “E-cRAZ-er Head!!”

I tried my best with that, y’all. Aizawa’s former student is making a pun out of the pronunciation of Eraser (イレイザー, romaji: Ireizā) and “crazy” (クレイジー, romaji: kureijī), which sound similar in Japanese. I tried to mirror the puntastic effect in English by translating the first half of the line, where the pun falls, as “E-cRAZ-er.” Try reading that aloud. E-raz-er. E-craz-er. They sound alike, right?

除籍と復籍の権限?

= “[You are requesting to be granted] the authority to expel and reenroll [your students]?”

はい———... 命の自己犠牲と命を捨てる事は同義じゃない履き違えた若者に

= “Yes———... self-sacrifice and throwing away one’s life are not synonymous. Young people confuse the two.”

望み通り一度"死"を与えます

= “I’ll give them just as they desire—a ‘death’ of sorts.”

その上で更なる向上に努めさせる

= “That will also [encourage them] to work hard to improve even more / reach even greater heights.”

自由な校風が雄英の売りなのさ...

= “Well, the selling point of UA is its flexible learning culture / customs...”

おまえに...... おまえのような誰かを引っ張っていけるヒーローに... 長く生長きてほしいから

= “[I want] for you...... for people like you to become Heroes who can pull others along... and live long lives.”

I haven’t been active in the BNHA fandom for anywhere near as long as I know some of you have. I’d never seen an episode or read a chapter of BNHA until a little over a year ago and I only ventured into the fandom some months ago on Twitter. I’ve been reading meta and translation posts on Tumblr for a bit longer than that, but I’ve never been brave enough to participate in extended discussions and the like, which I hardly think is Tumblr’s strength or purpose anyway. I’ve noticed a tendency among fans to assume that characters mean literally everyone—civilians, Heroes, and criminals/Villains—when they say “everyone” or something along those lines. If you’re familiar with my Twitter posts (hi!), you’ve probably picked up that I’m not in favor of that assumption and err on the side of “everyone” being a substitute for “people like [me]” until we have clear evidence (actions, not words) that a character truly means everyone when they say “everyone,” no exclusions or weightless arbitrary exceptions (that are quickly withdrawn, if they were ever sincere to begin with) for people they decide they like because they remind them of themselves (Hawks) or people they happen to share blood with (Endeavor).

In this case, Aizawa is saying “people like you (Shirakumo),” so to understand who it is he wants to “become Heroes who can pull others along... and live long lives,” we need to consider the lines before and after this one (for context) and ask, “What kind of person is Shirakumo?” We know that he is a person who cannot abandon others and cannot ignore anyone in need of help, human or furry friend. We know that he had a sunny disposition and optimistic outlook that was a source of comfort and inspiration for others. We also know that he was a student of Hero Academia and hoped to become a Pro Hero. So, who is it that Aizawa wants to “become Heroes... and live long lives”? Students of Hero Academia. This is not “I want everyone to be happy and die from old age warm in bed.” It’s “I want people like us to be happy and die from old age warm in bed.” There’s a difference, and it’s an important one because it speaks to Aizawa’s values, motivations, and worldview. We should be asking the same questions of every character.

白雲でもまだおまえがそこにいるのならなろうぜ... ヒーローに! 3人で!

= “Shirakumo, if you’re still in there, you can still be(come)... a Hero! Three people!” or “You can still be(come)... a Hero! The three of us [together]!”

That last sentence is a reference to two lines Shirakumo had spoken just before being killed by a collapsing building (俺たち3人なら何でも解決できると思うんだ! : “I believe the three of us could solve [any problem]!” and 3人で事務所を建てよう : “Let’s build an office / agency for three people!”). 3人 means “three people.”

This concludes Part I. Part II can be found here: https://at.tumblr.com/antiquity1111/bnha-253-255-kurogiri-aizawa-japanese-to-english/el63fj8fakj8.

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aashi-heartfilia · 2 years

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Hey there! First off, let me start off by saying I love your page and that some of my favorite all time characters are Lucy Heartfilia and Ochaco Uraraka, and I feel like they both suffer from the whole shonen troupe. More so Ochaco than Lucy. I’ve read through all your analysis and I think they are so spot on. And I’ve so enjoyed just chewing on our favorite girls, especially recently with S&S getting a volume cover and not Ochaco🙄, who’s the main girl of the series. Lol

When I was reading through your post on the issue with IzuOcha, I don’t think we’d gotten to the apology chapter yet, so I was wondering what your take on that was? And if you feel that opened up the vulnerability window with Deku that has always lacked with Ochaco? At least, in the manga of course!!

Once again, love your page and content and I wished there were more appreciators out there for our main girls!

Aww....thank you so much❤️

It brings me so much job to know first thing in the morning that people actually like my blog. I always try to be honest and write about my favourite underappreciated queens.

Lucy doesn't suffers from the same faith as Ochako because the writer himself knew what he was doing when developing Lucy. He created 'a girl of his dreams' and put so much focus on her development alone.

Ochako however, she gets plot points dedicated to her but either they're never expanded upon properly or they get sandwiched between other important moments of the story.

Eg, her take on 'Saving people' in the Overhaul arc. I still remember being mad and disappointed in that arc for doing Ochako so dirty.

After an arc going for 50+ chapters (overhaul) she gets a single page of development and even that felt empty and hollow because it just came out of nowhere.

She gives up her feelings for Deku in season 3 and starts focusing on hero work, doing internships etc. This was such a good opportunity to give her a new move!

She could have learned 'partial release'!

One of my nitpicks about Uraraka was also how even her quirk powers were never expanded upon properly. She just floats people and disarms them. It goes straight from 0 to 100. Imagine the wonders it would do if she could attach high powered rockets in her boots and use like 67% of her power.

It would annihilate her main weakness of puking and she can always work on increasing her weight limits.

And after giving her all when she wasn't able to save Nighteye she would feel guilty because she was just doing it as a job or maybe later give her some panels where she re thinks her ideals and what she wants to do in her life as a hero.

But no! Instead, her battle with the 8 bullets wasn't even shown on screen. I felt like I missed an episode or something because there is no way that the No10 Hero Ryukyu's battle wasn't even shown.

What's worse, it was never mentioned later other than a small flashback in season 5 and war arc.

Because we dive straight into the festival arc where Jirou replaced her as the main lead and did a pretty good job, NGL.

So yeah, it's like a culmination of plot points she gets but they're never expanded in depth or questions her ideals.

Though I would say Horikoshi actually fixed it one of the recent chapters where Uraraka goes over what she did wrong. It is one of my favourite Ochako panels so far because it really humanizes her so much, even more than Deku sometimes who's saving feels like more driven by his personal agenda rather than anything, lol.

She's just a normal girl from a poor background, wanting to support her parents and live a normal life. Gets thrown in a war where her entire worldview is questioned. For someone doing it just for money, her ideals gets questioned two times and a lot of people like to sleep on it like it never happened.

During the aftermath, it was Ochako who was running desperately to help people. Seeing people trapped and falling under the rubble. A shocking real life experience..where she even witnesses her fellow heroes giving up. Even if it was never said, her face is a visible representation of the said horror.

Will she still do it? Still be a Hero? Is the job worth it? Or is it even a job?

And she herself questions it again, not as a hero but as person asking that doesn't Toga deserves to smile too?

It is a direct parallel to what Toga says during the war arc.. doesn't she come in everyone too?

And yeah, I kind of like where her arc with Toga is going and I would love if it is done properly.. because it could be an arc that finally defines the hero she's gonna be.

Kind of like how Lucy got her moment in the Tartaros arc. One could argue that it's too late but I would say, better late than never!

I'm looking forward to some sort of awakening moment here because there is no way she could tackle Sad Girl's Parade or maybe I'm wrong like her Battle vs Bakugo that surpassed my expectations.

Horikoshi said that their is a scene he is itching to draw between Ochako and Toga, so I wonder if it will come sooner rather than later.

About IzuOcha:

I think it's fine. Personally, I'm more of a Kacchako or Uranium shipper but l like Green Tea as well. The thing that o don't like about Dekuraka is that despite Dekh being a major focus of Ochako's life the same cannot be said vice versa.

Deku likes Ochako. That's obvious. He thinks she's cute, strong, kind, good hair yada yada but he said it with a straight face like stating a fact of some sort which was hilarious considering how passionate he usually is when praising his other friends.

It felt more like 'yeah, you're good and we'll settle for world peace' and done.

Notice how most of the IzuOcha moments don't even involve Deku for the most part. It's just OCHAKO struggling to keep her feelings in check and do hero work which gets annoying after some time.

Like we don't have anyone teasing Deku for ya know. While the author leaves no chance to make Ochako's entire existence revolve around Deku for one reason or another.

Bakugo's arc is also based on that but at least his own independent arc gets much more development and recognition because despite his bullying Deku always looked upto him.

Bakugo for his credit shared his problems with Deku and they bonded up which is such a great development. Do you see Deku ever doing something solely for Ochako in season 3 or 4 or maybe 5?

Does he regrets hurting her for BlackWhip. He says a sorry and that's it. Even the real reason for that awakening was Bakugo.

So Deku's arc revolves more around Bakugo and Ochako sometimes just feels like an outside friend, a cherry girl of some sort.

So I kind of don't find myself fawning over it?

It is wierd for a ship that is developing since chapter 2 I guess?

Because for the most part, almost all emotional development and beats were given to BkDk and IzuOcha itself starts to feel very empty and shallow.

One could argue that it is one of the better developed romances than let's say Naruto or Bleach? But c'mon guys, even Hiro Mashima wrote a better plot for NALU than this!

You can't just say that good romances in shonen just does not exists. FT nails it when it comes to shipping developments and it feels very underappreciated in that regards.

Like for Natsu, Lucy will always be his priority and we know it. For Deku, Bakugo will always be his priority and we also know it and this is where the difference strikes in.

Ochako just doesn't have that much influence on Deku's life while Ochako's entire ideal system seems to be based on him.

I don't think we'll ever get an apology.

The closest we got was a Thank you on his part and that's that. Ochako's never gonna mention it. He'll never bring it up either. It was supposed to happen here but since it never happened, I guess it never will.

I'll be glad to be wrong though, if it ever gets addressed that is. Though I don't think that will ever happen because Deku leaving for everyone was considered very heroic even by Lord Explodey Kills himself.

But whatever, I was never a big fan. It was just acceptable to say that least..I mean, how do expect me to be more than Okay when Ochako was missing for the better part of Deku's struggles.

They don't have any real moments of vulnerability or growth that revolves around the other. And seriously, it's sickening because it's not like Horikoshi doesn't knows how to develop a relationship.

We have BkDk, KiriMina and even KamiJiro!

We have moments like these...and yet..

Do you ever see Deku getting worked up about Uraraka like this?

But then again, she has never been put into that much danger and that's the point! The author never bothered to put their relationship to a test.

Their story doesn't even coincides all that much for them to even have development revolving around the other which is also why some of the strongest IzuOcha moments come after the war arc.

So, yeah despite me being very acceptable of IzuOcha I think Ochako could have received way more development and maybe ships that were waaay better than whatever mess we have right now.

Uggh, this became a long post. Hope it answers your questions.

See ya!

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