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Super-explicit Evangelion fan translation leaves Japanese fan scratching his head

Casey Baseel Jan 30, 2014
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Part of what makes the anime Evangelion such an enduring hit is the series’ subtleness. The classic is riddled with lines of dialogue that have multiple meanings and possible interpretations. Sometimes the speaker’s true intent becomes clearer after revelations that occur in subsequent installments of the franchise, whereas other times repeat viewings only serve to muddy the waters even further.

But while this ambiguousness delights fans who have taken pleasure in discussing and dissecting Eva for close to 20 years now, the same lack of concrete answers can be unfathomably frustrating to some viewers. Can’t the characters just say what they mean, in a way that anyone can understand?

They can in at least one amateur translation, in which major character Misato makes no bones about her desire to bone.

The line in question is spoken by Misato to Shinji, the series’ protagonist to whom she serves as a caretaker. The relationship between the two grows steadily more complicated as time goes by and the pubescent Shinji grapples with his conflicting emotions. As a child who lost his mom at a young age, he desires a stable mother figure in his life. On the other hand, as a physically heathy 14-year-old, he desires something else as well when looking at the shapely Misato and her form-fitting dress.

Meanwhile, Misato, an orphan herself, is struggling with her own concepts of familial love, as well as how to separate it from romantic love, as evidenced by her frequent observations of the similarities between her deceased father and her on-again off-again lover, Kaji.

▼ Don’t feel bad, Kaji. In Japan, romance can be a tricky thing to define.

At one point in the series, Shinji hears Misato’s voice, presenting him with a startling proposal. The original Japanese line translates as:

“Hey, Shinji, do you want to be together with me? Our hearts and bodies, together as one? It feels so good when it happens. I’m ready for it, whenever you are.”

On the one hand, there’s little doubt that the 29-year-old Misato is propositioning the much younger Shinji. On the other, there are multiple layers to the indirectly-worded request, touching on Eva’s themes of loneliness and separation, whether the gap between individuals can or should be bridged, and if so, how. In a way, the line is a snapshot of just what makes the series so compelling.

Of course, if you’d rather Misato lay everything out in the open, you might prefer this fan-subtitled version of her complicated plea:

▲ Censor in place for our more sensitive readers, not present in the actual subtitling.

The unique translation choice attracted attention in Japan when Twitter user Karu Toma shared it, to which one of his followers quickly responded, “Well, that’s what she’s getting at, right?”

“Yeah, but you’ve got to show a little delicacy in these situations!” Karu Toma fired back.

We couldn’t agree more, and are frankly shocked by the completely out of character phrasing selected by the subtitler. Honestly, we’d never expect Shinji’s appointed guardian to use such foul language around the impressionable boy..

▼ Stay classy, Misato.

Source: Hachima Kiko
Insert images: Hachima Kiko