shirokokuro

[shirokokuro]

cardcaptor sakura gin-chan 🌸

#unironically why does this look like official art??? #the colors for the lineart are so well done--and the shine on the staff!! #also the justaway xDD Perfect placement #gintama #sakata gintoki #kindly refer to OP's tags haha

[shirokokuro]

“Normally people wouldn’t think of rebelling if they aren’t satisfied with society. Characters in One Piece and Naruto are fighting for their dreams and goals, so even though manga going toward dreams are absolutely necessary, if all manga are like that, some readers might think “well, where should I go if I don’t have any dreams?” Or “what should I do if I didn’t do my best every day?” Then, they read Gintama and see everyone in there is living a lazy life, they’ll feel more at ease. Even if you’re lazy, you can still walk down your path of life, and you need to live well, like that.”

— Quick Japan Interview with Sorachi Hideaki and Editors (via aritzen)

#Sorachi will write the most insane toilet paper gag #and then hit you with stuff like this #I love him for that #gintama

[shirokokuro]

Chapters: 5/5 Fandom: Gintama Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Sakata Gintoki & Yoshida Shouyou Characters: Sakata Gintoki, Yoshida Shouyou Additional Tags: character being forced to relive the same day, Gintoki POV, Gintoki is a culmination of all my wit, sassbucket child becomes soft, Father-Son Relationship, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Shouyou: So I opened a school., Gintoki: Ew. Where do I join?, Angst with a Happy Ending, Time Loop, Canon Compliant Summary:

First impressions aren’t meant to be this difficult.

#I'm so happy you enjoyed this fic so much omg #and your thoughts on the koban coin! #I'm obsessed with the idea of maneki neko Gin-chan now ngl #thank you!!!!

[shirokokuro]

some sketches before gin-san's bday ends 🥺

the right side is based on what to do about tomorrow by shirokokuro! that shouyou line will live in my head forever

#your art is so heckin pretty #love the plaintive tone of the first one #and omg shouyouuu #the one of him in the corner with the isolating composition just #*falls to floor in a state of despair* #yoshida shouyou #sakata gintoki #gintama

[shirokokuro]

So I actually did the fanart of Assassin!Gin Au! The AU Is From @shirokokuro check them out!, well in here i make gintoki have crow as a pet and the name's John,and he show it to Shouyo and oboro (and I want gintoki to say oboro is obo-chan because why not xD) and last, thank you shirokokuro for making this AU!

#oh my gosh this is too cute!!! #you did such a good job with the dead-eyed Gintoki stare hahaha #I'm so late in seeing this--sorry!! #sakata gintoki #assassin!gin

[shirokokuro]

birthdays are just arbitrary days until someone wants chocolate

extra:

#I...I do not have words #sakata gintoki #yoshida shouyou #like I thought this would hit me like a slap and instead it hit me like a bus

[shirokokuro]

⚠️ mild(?) flashing, shouyou/utsuro backstory content warning

i made this for shouyou's bday this year! here's a youtube upload with english lyrics (also idk japanese so the timing for the lyrics might be completely off LOL)

the song is heaven dope by niru kajitsu

#amazing work #yoshida shouyou #Gintama #utsuro #oboro #sakata gintoki #the transition from Utsuro to Shouyou was so smooth holy cow #really thoughtful and precise animation

[shirokokuro]

*furiously recites the clan rules*

#wangxian #mo dao zu shi #yiling laozu #wei wuxian #lan wangjj #Tencent: We can't let Wei Ying be as violent as in the books. #Also Tencent during ep 15: Wei Ying can have a little violence -- as a treat

[shirokokuro]

The Curious Case of Megalobox and Translation as a Form of Metacommentary

Pardon me for I must speak about the boxing show.

***Vague spoilers for Megalobox Season 1***

Background

Megalobox is a 2018 sports anime set in a futuristic Japan that is characterized by wealth-disparity and illegal immigration. The story follows Joe “Junk Dog,” a boxer who partakes in underground, rigged fights orchestrated by the mafia tycoon Fujimaki. Despite his talent, Joe’s status as an illegal alien ensures that he is doomed to throwing matches for income.

Joe’s literary foil is the champion boxer Yuri. Possessing a much higher status than Joe, Yuri is the main fighter for the Shirato Group, a tech company specializing in assistive gear for megalo-boxing matches. His passion for boxing has ultimately been stifled by the economic aspirations of the Shirato Group’s CEO, Yukiko Shirato. In a bid to display their state-of-the-art boxing gear to military investors, the Shirato Group hosts a megalo-boxing tournament. This decision sets the course for Joe and Yuri’s inevitable collision.

Themes

Megalobox explores a variety of concepts such as poverty, addiction, classism, and family. At its crux, the first season emphasizes that greed is the antithesis of passion and that personal autonomy is necessary to achieve a life well-lived.

Audience

I was unable to find any demographic information for Megalobox’s audience. The creative team elected to use line art reminiscent of 90s hand-drawn animation, and the rating is 14 and up. From this, it is clear the intended audience was meant to be young adults and older. Additionally, I think it’s safe to say given the contents of the show that it is intended to appeal to male viewers.

Thesis

Translational variances between the Japanese dub of Megalobox and the English sub and dub versions present different interpretations of the show’s core messages. In the English translation, gender is injected into the show’s text in ways absent in the original Japanese.  

Discussion

By and large, the translation team for Megalobox did a stellar job keeping true to the original intention of the Japanese dialogue. The English dub mirrors the English subtitles very closely, and I think the voice acting team did a very good job at delivering these lines. In fact, Megalobox is one of the few anime that I chose to watch in English dub instead of with subtitles, which has culminated in my current epiphany.

When watching, I couldn’t help noting some of the moments when characters would discuss “men” as a state of being. In these scenes, the word “men” was used in lieu of “human” to discuss philosophical concepts. This tendency tinted my understanding of Megalobox. I was curious if this gendered interpretation was inherent to the original Japanese as well or if this machismo patina was a result of translational bias. After performing brief comparisons of some English and Japanese scenes, I discovered it was the latter.

There are a few moments in the show where non-gendered phrases are translated as male. For instance, in episode 12, Yuri and Yukiko are discussing the irrationality of Yuri’s desire to fight Joe. In the English subtitles, Yuri explains his reasoning with the following:

“The man who taught me Megalo-boxing told me something. ‘If you’re lucky enough to run into a fighter in your generation who you want to win against from the bottom of your heart, consider yourself blessed. If you ever find someone like that, never let him out of your sight.'"

The tricky thing with translating sentences like the ones above is that Japanese often doesn’t use pronouns. There’s no need to use them because grammatical subjects aren’t required to form a complete sentence. As such, when translating Japanese to English, a pronoun often must be inferred for the translation to be effective. Translators are thus left to fill in the blanks of what the English translation should be. This freedom leads to some interesting results, like in Megalobox. For example, the above quote doesn’t actually use any gendered language at all in the original Japanese.

“The person [人 hito] who taught me Megalo-boxing told me something. ‘If, in your generation, you meet a fighter who you want to win against from the bottom of your heart, that is a blessing. If you ever meet a person like that, never take your eyes off of [them].'”

The “man” and “him” in the translation are absent from the actual Japanese. This isn’t a huge deal, especially because we see that Yuri’s trainer was a man and, Yuri being a male Megaloboxer, his opponent being male is sort of implied. In the dub, there is the additional challenge of matching the mouth movements to the VA’s lines. Again, I don’t take issue with the above English translation since the gender is implied through context. Some other translations, however, altered the text in ways that fit the original message of Megalobox into a gendered frame.

Such alterations appear in two conversations, once in episode 6 between Aragaki and Nanbu and once in episode 13 between Yuri and Joe.

(1) In the conversation between Aragaki and Nanbu, the two are discussing the finale of Aragaki’s career and his feelings surrounding it. Aragaki discloses a conversation he had with Joe:

However, the closer translation is something like, “Joe said something to me: ‘You can blame whoever, but the decision to make the call is up to you.’” The Japanese word used here isn’t “man” or even “human.” The original Japanese uses the word 手前 (temei), which is a derogatory way to say “you.” Aragaki is literally relaying the words that Joe said verbatim. In the English, the translation is generalized to humanity in general, encapsulated by the gendered term “man.” As such, the moral of Joe’s Japanese statement splits from its insular roots (“You have to make your own call”) to instead reflect a broader worldview (“A man makes his own calls”).

(2) The second time this alteration appears is during a brief internal monologue of Yuri during his fight with Joe. The main statement of interest is this one:

The closer translation, however, is, “I can’t dance on my own.” The Japanese word used here is 俺 (ore), a gruff, masculine way to say “I” instead of the “a man” used in the English dub and subtitles. Given this, what the spoken Japanese accomplishes is completely different in tone and message from the English subtitles and dub. In the Japanese, Yuri is expressing a thought that pertains only to himself and Joe; in contrast, the English translation poses this moment as if Yuri is pontificating about the nature of man and man’s dependence upon competition to achieve new heights. While both the original and translation are not entirely divorced from the core concept of Megalobox (i.e., passion makes life worthwhile), the English translation provides a societal commentary on the nature of man that is not present in the original Japanese.

Closing Thoughts

I hesitate to describe this type of translation as “dangerous." It is completely fine to have media that explores what it means to be a man in the same ways it is fine to have media that explores what it means to be a woman or to be someone of any other gender.

That being said, at its core, Megalobox discusses the human condition and the necessity of dreams—fueled through personal autonomy—to sustain meaning in life. This moral is by no means intended to be gendered in the original Japanese. In the conversation between Aragaki and Nanbu, for example, the Japanese assertion that people have to make their own choices can just as easily apply to anyone of any gender, not just men. The English takes this message and, perhaps unintentionally, restricts it to one gender. I would therefore assert that the worst outcome of gendering the theme of Megalobox is that it is disingenuous to the original material.

Fascinatingly, I think my own months-long obsession with this element of Megalobox stemmed from the fact the English highlighted that I was not the intended audience. I kept thinking while watching the dub that I understood what the text was trying to communicate to me, that the philosophical conflict was something inspiring and applicable to my own life, only to run into the brick wall of, “This media is not meant for you.”

If anything, it is very much interesting how translational decisions can have such a profound effect on a show’s delivery.

#megalo box #essay #I do enjoy the boxing show #megalobox

[shirokokuro]

#shouka sonjuku #poll #gintama #naturally this is the first thing I do with the poll option

[shirokokuro]

Meaning you put here and there, the explanation you put at the end, glimpses of your own experiences and research here and there... Everything you put in there make the whole series feels alive, serene, and if I'm being poetic, beautiful in silence. Like sparkle of gold dust on dark background. Thank you for sharing all of these magnificent works!! Look after yourself, keep healthy and stay safe! Sorry for my messy English. English is not my first language. 2/

(Your English is perfect! I used to teach, so you're totally cool.)

Thank you!! Oh my gosh, this is so nice--I barely know what to say. Thank you for such kind comments, and I hope you are doing well too! Take care of yourself <3

#personal

[shirokokuro]

Just want to tell you that all your Gintama fics are amazing!!! I especially love A Demon's Guide to Being Human series. It's so rare to find fics that tell stories about Gintoki and describe him the way you wrote it. The novelty, how mysterious and cryptic he talks and acts is just... Perfect to me. Since Gintoki is both a simple person and an enigma. The way you wrote the background stories leading up to the main problem, the way the problem is solved, all the hidden (simple, yet deep) 1/

Ohhhh my gosh, I've been reading this over and over. Thank you so, so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to write out such a long response to tell me what you think. Gintoki is such a mind-bender for me to write sometimes since he's diametrically opposed to the kind of characters I tend to write, more unruly and unobstructed where his natural state of existence is nomadic but he thrives, unexpectedly, in the structure of the relationships around him. It's pretty fun to work with that simple/enigmatic mix like you talked about!

#personal

[shirokokuro]

(Post Part 27)

Udo Shrine is a real shrine in modern-day Nichinan. Nichinan's only been around since the Meiji Restoration, so in the mid-1800s, the area would've likely been referred to as the greater Hyuuga province. Travel was also heavily restricted by the Edo government (Sakamoto Ryouma, the person Tatsuma is based off of, ran into so many issues with that policy.), but with the proper authorization, travel was possible.

PART 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 20.5 / 20.75 / 21 / 22 / 22.5 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 27.5 / 27.75 / 27.99 / 27.999 / 28 / 29

#yes suzuran and maizou live a happily married life for all of their years OK? #this is important to me #gintama #how to train your kami #imai nobume #rotten maizou #sasaki isaburo #suzuran #I traced the shrine i'm sorry xD #architecture and I are not friends #(the photo was from wikipedia--link provided)

[shirokokuro]

what do you mean it didn’t happen like this

#I'm obsessed with this headcanon #gintama #yoshida shouyou #katsura kotarou #takasugi shinsuke #sakata gintoki #kagura #shimura shinpachi #art by op

[shirokokuro]

PART 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 20.5 / 20.75 / 21 / 22 / 22.5 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 27.5 / 27.75 / 27.99 / 27.999 / 28 / 29

#gintama #sakata gintoki #yoshida shouyou #hugs! #been a hot second eh? #how to train your kami

[shirokokuro]

Assassin!Gin 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

#gintama #sakata gintoki #yoshida shouyou #assassin!gin #hugs!

[shirokokuro]

#gintama #yoshida shouyou #sakata gintoki #smallyou #doodle