Unlimited Translation Works

Watamote – 04


DOWNLOAD HD: [FTW]_Watashi_ga_Motenai_no_wa_Dou_Kangaetemo_Omaera_ga_Warui_-_04_[720p][F7C55EF8].mkv [DDL]
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We’re a little late today due to disappearing staff™. Sorry about that, and please enjoy this week’s episode!
I don’t know what to think about that endcard.

48 Thoughts on “Watamote – 04

  1. Thanks menz

  2. thanks, you are giving a whole new taste to this anime.

  3. Thanks
    What about Tamayura?

  4. ergzay on July 30, 2013 at 7:54 am said:

    Not sure if I agree with your translation of “chikan sawareta” as “I was assaulted.” The world’s becoming a strange place if touching someone is considered assault.

  5. Scrat on July 30, 2013 at 8:04 am said:

    judging from the first 2min. I’m very disappoint about the lack of typesetting effort 😛
    jk, the rest was fabulous <3

  6. Xephron on July 30, 2013 at 8:51 am said:

    Thanks for the subs.
    Should it be “knee socks” or “thigh-high socks”? Yuu says “knee sa”, but they look more like thigh-highs.

  7. 1.048596 on July 30, 2013 at 10:12 am said:

    This is getting harder and harder to watch every episode. ^^

  8. Jay-kun on July 30, 2013 at 10:29 am said:

    Thanks! 😀

  9. aziz777 on July 30, 2013 at 10:48 am said:

    Thanks a lot !

  10. Monkey D. Fluffy on July 30, 2013 at 12:10 pm said:

    \an8 best typesetting

  11. Commander Bubble on July 30, 2013 at 12:42 pm said:

    What a reasonable father she has ^^ father-of-the-year award?
    Also the ED keeps mkaing me feel sorry for her >_<

  12. Bork Lazer on July 30, 2013 at 3:52 pm said:

    waiting 4 SD

  13. Margaan on July 30, 2013 at 4:01 pm said:

    Unsolicited editorial advice:
    Try switching out “molest” for “grope” or perhaps even “touch” every once in a while. This will prevent leering glossophiles from harassing you in the comments section.

  14. sandoe41 on July 30, 2013 at 4:16 pm said:

    Audio and video stutter between 10:24-10:27, too much blur used with TS. I have the latest CCCP update.

  15. warmturtle on July 30, 2013 at 5:26 pm said:

    Goddamn this is getting too awkward

  16. ikr… this anime just full of…… awkward situations… O.o
    And my reaction.. just like when i watched ntr show -_-

  17. thecowgoesmoo on July 30, 2013 at 6:12 pm said:

    @ergzay: As the one who corrected this one–from “harrassment”–I’ll respond to this. In the United States and Canada (probably elsewhere too, but since we’re using American English, so I’m only concerned with American legal definitions), sexual assault includes inappropriate touching.
    From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/sexual-assault.cfm
    I don’t make the laws and regulations, I just follow them. You may also be surprised by the fact that “regular” assault does not require someone to be hit. Merely threatening someone with imminent harm (e.g., raising a wooden stick at someone) is considered assault. The actual act of hitting someone is considered “battery”, which is why people are often charged with both assault and battery if they beat someone up.
    the_more_you_know.gif

  18. Margaan on July 30, 2013 at 6:52 pm said:

    While being groped on a train definitely qualifies as “assault,” both in a legal and a more abstract ethical sense, I have my doubts that a Japanese schoolgirl would be liable to use the term in its technical sense during casual conversation with her friends. (When was the last time you heard a school kid say, “my wallet was the subject matter of larceny!”?) “I got groped” or, “some bastard had his hands all over me!” would be way, way more appropriate to the character. (For the exact line in question, “heck, even I’ve gotten groped twice!” might flow most naturally.)

  19. knorssman on July 30, 2013 at 8:49 pm said:

    last 3 episodes way better than this one, hope this doesn’t keep up

  20. Scarecrowe on July 30, 2013 at 9:20 pm said:

    dat endcard.
    every episode I start to fall in love with her more and more. the perfect fixer upper!

  21. skyhack on July 30, 2013 at 10:18 pm said:

    Than k’yu.

  22. macxxx007 on July 30, 2013 at 10:20 pm said:

    No worries… I don’t time people… thanks so much for the episode!

  23. Can you use the word ” grope” instead of the “moleste”? Just saying that nobody would talk about “force to have unwanted sex” so causally. Also, thank you.

  24. Cyou on July 31, 2013 at 3:48 am said:

    “Naginata” to “long sword”? That’s two completely different things.

  25. namednoob on July 31, 2013 at 6:54 am said:

    This anime is so bad, I really tried to enjoy it up to this ep but had to drop it, regardless I admire UTW for being able to keep going with it.

  26. STARWOOD on July 31, 2013 at 9:32 am said:

    Am Disappoint… NOT! 😛
    Thanks as always UTW !! 😀

  27. thecowgoesmoo on July 31, 2013 at 1:15 pm said:

    @Margann: While I agree with you that your average Japanese schoolgirl would probably not use the equivalent of “assaulted”, I think we can also agree that Moko is decidedly not average. BTW, the only time I suggested “assaulted” was when she was being assaulted (sexually and normally, now that I think about it) by the pole-arm (I also take no credit for “long sword”). As she was in full panic mode, it makes sense (to me, at least) for her to go, “Help, I’m being assaulted!” or the equivalent.
    @rex: In English, being groped is one form of molestation. Being “forced to have unwanted sex” is usually referred to as “rape”. “Molest” being overused is a different issue.

  28. Shizuo on July 31, 2013 at 7:07 pm said:

    Thank you, UTW

  29. Traac on July 31, 2013 at 10:24 pm said:

    @ Cyou: Damn straight.
    Honestly, while I’m all for flowing sentences and whatnot, localization is something that I unequivocally cannot tolerate. In this case, whoever came up with that must think we’re either blind or stupid. Weapon names are names. A Khopesh is a Khopesh, a Bardiche is a Bardiche. Just because it (might be) an obscure one with a foreign name doesn’t change the fact that it is what it is. A translator’s job is to translate, not to spoon-feed his viewers.

  30. Mikoto on August 1, 2013 at 1:23 am said:

    @Xephron
    Yes, they’re actually called “knee socks” in Japanese. I can’t fathom where this confusing usage comes from, but in Japanese, it *always* refers to overknee socks and *never* to actual (western) knee socks, which stop a good way *below* the knee.
    About the endcard: I’d hit it! 😀
    Thanks for the subs!

  31. Traac on August 1, 2013 at 2:03 am said:

    @ Mikoto: Interesting… To me, knee socks always referred to socks that go above the knee…

  32. Apologies for the little mistakes. We all have our bad days and I suppose this was one; we were delayed massively and were rushing to get the release out. I’m at least somewhat glad that these problems wouldn’t particularly ruin the comedy and second-hand embarrassment that characterizes this show, and I hope most of you laughed and winced at Mokocchi’s antics as much as I did when I first watched the episode.
    The problems will, of course, be fixed for the batch. I’ll address each of the issues pointed out here:
    Overuse of “molest” and its variants (5:15-11:38) – Groping is a form of molestation but the reverse is not true, which was why I passed over the term originally. I’ll see about giving this section another run and tastefully switching out “molest” for “grope” from time to time.
    “Assaulted” (5:51) – I’ll admit this was in poor taste, considering the context and the speaker. I used “harassed” originally and I suppose I wasn’t really thinking when I made the suggested QC change. We’ll probably use “groped” in the batch release.
    Typesetting (10:25) – This played fine on my five-year-old toaster of a laptop with the latest CCCP setup and therefore shouldn’t be an issue.
    “Long sword” (12:18) – This was meant to be “pole-arm”; in a moment of carelessness, I made the last-minute change in the script I was using to QC and not the final script that I uploaded and released. We will not be using “naginata”, because I don’t want the majority of viewers to spend more time wondering and looking up what a naginata is than enjoying the comedy at hand. Good for you if you’ve come across the term before, but the lines in question simply wouldn’t have the same comedic impact if you’ve never even heard of “naginata”. This is a cringe comedy and not a fantasy/action show where the actual name of the weapon might be important, and jokes are funniest the first time round, after all.
    “Knee socks” (15:34) – Apologies for the careless mistake. It’ll be fixed to “Thigh highs” for the batch.
    Other fixes, including a rehaul of the OP lyrics, typesetting tweaks, and some missed background dialogue, will also be included for the batch release.

  33. Margaan on August 1, 2013 at 3:30 am said:

    Raze has made my day.
    (And @thecowgoesmoo: You’re quite right. I could certainly see Mokocchi using “assault” in the crowded train; my problem was the context of the single use of “assaulted” that appeared in the script. Raze just addressed that issue.)

  34. Knorssman on August 1, 2013 at 4:33 am said:

    @Raze “This is a cringe comedy” are you from the future and know these things? because episode 3 was the best with the right amount of cringe and HNNNNG, ep 4, too much cringe IMO

  35. Isn’t it hard to watch this without blushing? Oh, Mokocchi…

  36. Whatever floats your boat. Seems that good editing and non-localization can’t go hand in hand anymore…
    Might as well go all the way and change the place names, food names and everything else foreign or uncommon into something familiar so that our brains won’t be burdened with the mental stress of taking in things that are new to us. Afterall, they are techinally not important. Heck, why stop there? References to other anime should be changed as well. Wouldn’t want the viewer to spend too much effort wondering what Chinese cartoon the show is referring to – might get in the way of the comedy at hand. Why “moe” was left as it is is still a mystery. How can I understand terms that are not present in the English dictionary?
    Editing’s great, but this really doesn’t make any sense to me. Good work nonetheless.

  37. Osako Yuya on August 1, 2013 at 4:25 pm said:

    THank you!

  38. Xythar on August 1, 2013 at 7:53 pm said:

    @Traac Because in this case, converting “naginata” to “pole-arm” IS good editing.
    It’s about making a judgment call about the purpose of the scene and what is most important. In this case, the fact that it’s a weapon is far more important than the specific type of weapon it is – and leaving it as “naginata” ruins the punchline of the whole scene for anyone who isn’t familiar with the term.
    It’s a stretch to even call this localization in the manner you describe, because a naginata is a kind of pole-arm. It’s simply a translation choice, as much as it was to render the other words into the show into plain English.

  39. Koneko on August 2, 2013 at 2:14 am said:

    Lookit there, it’s Xythar trolling the interwebs again!
    Mate, don’t tell me that you have even the faintest clue what constitues “good editing”, because you definitely *don’t*.
    We all know that you’re a localisation fanatic. “Oh noes, look at all those wicked Japanese terms! It’s our patriotic duty as upstanding American citizens to replace it with good, patriotic, American terms!”
    *Replacing* “naginata” with “long sword” definitely *doesn’t* have anything to do with translation, it’s nothing but localisation – an a pretty stupid one and totally unneccessary one here, too, because we actually *see* what it was that had found its way between her legs: the girl is holding it in her hand, and she apologises that her naginata caused such trouble. Anyone who has more than two working brain cells can quickly make the connection that “naginata” refers to the weapon that the girl is holding in her hands, even without having heard the term before. Don’t treat your viewers as if they’re mentally handicapped.
    You can ruin your awful Commie-Subs with your localisation mania (and other stupid stuff) all you want, I don’t care. But it would be seriously annoying if the otherwise well-done utw subs were ruined by your localisation mania as well.

  40. Azusa on August 2, 2013 at 2:55 am said:

    I’ll agree with Koneko here.
    I’ll even say that this is one of the cases where this localisation is not only stupid, but even harmful, as replacing naginata with long sword totally ruins the joke!
    Tomoki is wondering about why something that is curved has made it’s way between her legs, and wonders if a certain part of the male anatomy is curved as well.
    When it was then revelaed that the object responsible for the groping supposed was a long sword, I was like, “Wtf? Wait a minute, that can’t be, she was talking about it being curved, and long swords definitely aren’t curved.” So I stopped, went back a little and listened closely to the audio, where I picked up “naginata”. It wasn’t hard to make the connection between naginata and the weapon the girl was holding in her hands, and that a naginata is curved, quite unlike a long sword.
    Having the name of the weapon left as naginata would’ve left the joke intact, instead of creating confusion that long swords aren’t curved.
    If you really thought your viewers can’t make the connection, you could’ve added an explanation to the post: “Translation note: A naginata is a polearm-like weapon with a curved attachment on top of it.” That would’ve been much better, instead of arbitrarily replacing naginata with “long sword”, which totally ruined the joke.

  41. Xythar on August 2, 2013 at 3:23 am said:

    Apparently neither of you can read, since I specifically said “pole-arm”, not “long sword”. Responding to an argument that nobody is making seems like a waste of time to me, but it’s your life.
    Shimapan, why do you keep using new names to post when it’s so blatantly obvious it’s you every time? By the way, I edit for quite a few groups, and if it wasn’t already obvious by the fact that I write my posts in British English, I’m not American.

  42. Naginata ftw! …Such a minor detail though. Isn’t it a bit awkward to make it into such a big deal? It doesn’t alter the structure of the story to translate it as “polearm” or “long sword” in the way that removing honorifics from a character’s name would.
    I’m against localization, and agree that naginata is the best choice given that so many people do know what it is, alongside the fact that it’s clearly pictured in the anime for the viewer to derive its definition. But translating it doesn’t make or break the show. :p

  43. knorssman on August 3, 2013 at 11:58 am said:

    as som1 who is trying to learn japanese, random “localization” doesn’t help me much
    does anyone know if there is a sub group that does “literal” translations as much as possible?

  44. archdeco on August 3, 2013 at 4:43 pm said:

    @Koneko, Azusa Since you hate pole-arm that much(it’s not long sword), we’re gonna sub this show in romaji starting next week. This will let you enjoy it on a 100% Japanese level.
    @knorssman: You know that translation does not mean translating every single word by dictionary?

  45. @archdeco: “..we’re gonna sub this show in romaji starting next week. This will let you enjoy it on a 100% Japanese level.”
    How astute. Yes, that’s exactly what we’re asking for because we’re deaf and/or don’t know how to watch anime raw if we didn’t need subs in the first place. Please stop treating people like idiots.
    @archdeco: “You know that translation does not mean translating every single word by dictionary?”
    No shit, Sherlock. However, translation doesn’t mean localization either. There are overlaps, but they are not one and the same.
    Take a look at British shows. Do they change ‘torch’ to ‘flashlight’ or ‘car park’ to ‘parking lot’ or ‘bangers and mash’ to ‘sausages and mashed potatoes’? Nope. Yes, you could make the argument that it’s still English, but people outside the UK get stumped by the colloquialisms and cultural references all the same. Wanna enjoy them to the fullest? Tough luck, you gotta get yourself immersed in the culture. Yet, when it comes to other languages, we feel the need to spoon-feed the viewer by transforming everything into something familiar and relatable. Not to mention, the practice of liking the foreign culture gets you vilified and treated as if you were a race traitor.

  46. AHAHAHAHAHA on August 6, 2013 at 9:14 am said:

    Bit bored..just clicking through some utw posts.
    The amount of weaboos and ingrates in this discussion is absurd.
    And surprise surprise it’s the same people every time.
    Just posting to give my support on the decisions made by the people who work on this show.
    If you don’t like their work, sub the show yourselves.
    /rant

  47. Gen003 on August 6, 2013 at 10:01 am said:

    There are valid reasons for leaving it as ‘naginata’ as well as for ‘localizing’ it to ‘pole-arm’. In the end it comes down to the philosophy of the persons doing the subbing work and what they feel gets the relevant meaning across to the audience they expect to attract. The term isn’t so scarcely heard in the English speaking world that the vast majority of the niche subset of individuals who watch anime would be unfamiliar with it. Though, one could argue that it’s not as well known as something akin to the word ‘katana’.
    As a number of comments have pointed out, a complete understanding of the joke in question can only be achieved if one has some knowledge of what a naginata is, and how it looks like. The trouble is whether or not a translation note would convey that information quickly and effectively enough to save the joke for viewers who are not in possession of the relevant information. As should be clear by now, even a small translation issue like this has no clear solution, especially if you approach it without a definitive translation goal in mind. Translation is not an easy job.
    @knorssman If you are really trying to learn Japanese then anime is probably not the best place to go further. The diction and mannerisms of anime characters are only marginally similar to actual Japanese people (in most cases, but severity differs depending on the show), and you’d be in for a world of surprise if you thought ‘liberal’ fansub TLers don’t have to use a lot of clever translation tricks to make certain lines make sense in the target language. Then there’s the issue that minor translation errors occur rather frequently in even good fansub groups’ projects, and even good subbers make at least one or two major errors occasionally (this figure escalates for shows that include large amounts of obscure references, or technical/archaic language). Official subs aren’t much better, though they universally outperform mediocre fansubs. If you want to enjoy your anime ‘properly’, studying Japanese at school or some other recognized institution is probably your best bet. Otherwise, there is absolutely no way, no matter what subber you watch, that you will get all the bits that are ‘lost in translation’.

  48. Gen003 on August 6, 2013 at 10:04 am said:

    did I say ‘liberal fansub TLers’? I meant ‘LITERAL’ fansub TLers -__-“

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