Funny Localization Thing

[すーぱー猫になりたい]

I might be very late to this but I found it funny that the slur in Japanese used to describe those unable to use powers was "Bell Pepper". However the english subtitles just calls them duds. It could be the cultural dislike of Bell Peppers traditionally but I kinda found it amusing. Like instead of just calling them a sort of failure or lesser to the average person that is implied with the word dud its literal name calling that to a person unfamiliar with the term sounds outrageous.

[ADMNtek]

Bell Pepper seriously that would make no sense whatsoever in English.
and is why you do not translate 1:1.

The English definition of dud fits pretty well.
a thing that fails to work properly or is otherwise unsatisfactory or worthless.

[Blendi]

So I just wasn't hearing things....they really were saying bell pepper. I dont like bell peppers that much either but calling people 'bell peppers.' That's just harsh.

[すーぱー猫になりたい]

I wasn't saying that for or against keeping the term in localization. I feel personally what I want in localization is very different from what the community at large would like. I speak japanese pretty well so I only really use subtitles to double check my comprehension. I had heard the term but I am happy they said it multiple times because it was so weird that I thought for a second I misheard.

[すーぱー猫になりたい]

I looked into the term in itself and I have found that in the anime it's further elaborated on and maybe it is further elaborated on in-game that it’s because people without powers are empty inside, like a bell pepper. I have definitely heard bell pepper be used as a visual for something empty inside. It is a japanese thing but kinda obscure.

[ADMNtek]

one thing I thought was kinda funny was during a dialogue with Luka and he said that he wants duds to be treated like all others. which could mean 2 very different things based on how you look at it.

[Blendi]

Originally posted by すーぱー猫になりたい:

I looked into the term in itself and I have found that in the anime it's further elaborated on and maybe it is further elaborated on in-game that it’s because people without powers are empty inside, like a bell pepper. I have definitely heard bell pepper be used as a visual for something empty inside. It is a japanese thing but kinda obscure.

So its a metaphor. But it is somewhat funny that they treat it like it's a serious term.

[すーぱー猫になりたい]

Well I mean in the context of the story it's basically a term used to say something is wrong with these people. Like calling someone mentally ill because they were born without even the weakest of ability. I think it's given the same weight as the other terms like Adult and volunteer. It implies that they are lacking something and as such are inherently inferior. Its a goofy term like all the other terms but I think I understand why it's given the weight that they assign it.

[Mouse]

Originally posted by ADMNtek:

Bell Pepper seriously that would make no sense whatsoever in English.
and is why you do not translate 1:1.

The English definition of dud fits pretty well.
a thing that fails to work properly or is otherwise unsatisfactory or worthless.

Wrong, this is why septics are universally hated, this xenophobic response to learning something new and instead proclaiming how the rest of the world is wrong for having their own colloquialisms.

[すーぱー猫になりたい]

Oh come now. I don't fully agree with his assessment either but calling his opinion xenophobic is a but harsh isn't it. Honestly I agree that keeping the term Bell Pepper would have been more faithful and wouldn't have confused English speakers as much as more typical changes like characters referring to each other with their family names as well as honorifics and rank, even though it does lesson the fact that Sumeragi is clearly uncomfortable in the beginning with addressing his fellow OSF by their given names. Localization should make the cultural differences less of a barrier for overseas players. That's why it exists at all. Now the choices of what to localize is purely subjective. Which is why different things are localized differently and often times localisations can sometimes re contextualize or completely mitigate a plot thread that is "too japanese" for an english audience. Honestly I find Bell Pepper to be less of an issue and more of an annoyance. On the other hand I find the english script to be less human than the Japanese voices and script are conveying. I found a lot of times where Sumeragi is supposed to be stammering and calling people by their rank rather than names, or using their family name over their given it's simplified after the first act to just having him say their given name. This is a byproduct of localization already changing it so they aren't using their family name at all as it's more natural for english speakers. I personally find this a lot more annoying than Bell Pepper. However this is all just nitpicks from people who are more familiar with Japanese and it's culture and probably doesn't bother those who the localiztion are meant for, that being native english speakers with substantial knowledge on japanese socal customs.

[Kerrack]

Originally posted by すーぱー猫になりたい:

Now the choices of what to localize is purely subjective.

Which is why sometimes we get garbage dubs like those by Sentai Filmworks, and other times we get pure comedy gold like the English dub of Ghost Stories.
Accurate translation?
Hell no.
Hilarious?
ABSOLUTELY.

[すーぱー猫になりたい]

I agree. Honestly people who'd rather have more accurate dubs probably will default to watching it in it's original japanese as I do. However I am in a very niche case where I understand Japanese fairly well. I feel personally subs should be more accurate than dubs, and that subs should expect the viewer to understand a bit more about the culture of japan more than those who watch dubs. In this case though I am extremely leaniant on game subs because the Japanese audio isn't what the sub is based on. Its actually based on the english dub audio and script. It would be a lot of work to expect that the Japanese dub would have it's own localized script, especially since there would be very little difference between the script localized for the english dub and those that would be produced for the Japanese subtitle. Its really only small quirks and changes that come into english dubing that mess with subtitling those texts. Practially all games with an english VO will only have one set of subtitles that goes along with it. Generally it is the same plot and generally the same scene in both languages, however there are things that come up like Bell Peppers among other quirks. Like how in FFXV every single line that Cindy (Cidni) says in Japanese is subtitle as if she speaks in a southern drawl. As well her name was localized to the more natural Cindy. All of this ofcourse makes since in the sense that it was written off an english dub. So you're practially reading the english dub while listening to Japanese VO.

However I don't think this game nor most recent games have terrible English VO in spite of the weird localization of terms. Definitely not as bad things were in PS2 era JRPGs. Shadow Hearts comes to mind. It's also a case where I love how terrible the dub is but man it does ruin any sort of tension and polish the game has story wise.

[Kerrack]

The weirdest one I remember back in that era is definitely Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders. The VO was kinda meh, not great but not atrocious, except that they were worried about offending Catholics so they went back at the last second prior to release and did a quick audio edit anywhere the word "pope" was used to describe the leader of the religious organization that I can't remember the name of off the top of my head. So you end up with these absolutely bizarre moments where a single word has been completely cut from a sentence and there's just this awkward blip of silence for no reason. To this day it's still one of the most ham-handed things I've ever seen.
Speaking of Cindy and her accent, have you ever watched Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi?
The dubbing team accurately translated the Hokkaido dialect everybody in it has, so the entire cast sounds like they're from southern Texas.
It's *GLORIOUS.*

[すーぱー猫になりたい]

I haven't. I've always found it weird though that that's the only way things like the Hokkaido accent is translated. I always feel like the difference in accent is way more subtler than just the english southern vs midwestern. Like I understand that the purpose is more that hokkaido is essentially the "country" of japan when compared to tokyo standard but it feels a bit ham fisted. I think the more accurate translation would be something more akin to Queen's English vs American English. Though I think there is definitely less VO's in England that work in anime VO than in America, definitely less with a long history in the craft.

[Villain]

I feel I'm in the minority when I would rather not have stereotypical southern accents in anime media localization. I thought that it'd be cool to incorporate more stereotypes in localizations, but then I saw "bruh" in priconne's english release and now would rather everyone just speak midwestern, british, and Shakespearean english. I' definitely one of the few who hates the cockney english in the dragon quest series haha

[Kerrack]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZIpFytCSVc
I had to.
On a completely unrelated note, why does DC never give Clark Kent a southern accent?
Dude's from Kansas.
DO IT YOU COWARDS.