Temple of Ranma's Sailor Senshi Seifuku

Just how much do we lose in the translation? What is the difference between the japanese version and the english version of the manga?
This morning, i was doing my japanese homework, and was looking in my japanese-english dictionary. For one reason or another, i ended up in the U section.
THere i found Umi- which means sea. But a few lines down i noticed an entry- Umisen/Yamisen. And i was reminded of the Forbiden Techniques from the manga- The Umisenken, the Thousand sea fist, which lets the person turn invisible, amoung other things, and the Yamsenken, The THousand Mountain Fist, letting the practitioner throw vacume blades.
But in the dictionarry, it said-Umisen/Yamisen. Old (timer, person, campainer, man). Which makes them a lot less fearsome sounding. So- two of the most deadly tequniques in the whole manga can be interperted as meaning 'Old man fist' or 'Old timer fist'.
How much else do we lose in the translation?

Not having having a English/Japanese dictionary on me at the most might I suggest that you check the kanji? Japanese has a lot of homophones and the romaji may not always enough to differentiate the words.
Also it could be a case of literal translation vs transliteration. To borrow an example from Chinese the common greeting 'Nihao' (pardon the lack of tone markers) means literally 'You good' but accepted practice renders it into 'Hello' or a similar greeting. If a translator is unfamiliar with the phrase they may render it literally rather than using an equivalent phrase that carries the intended meaning.
Personally I'd favour the first option but without an original Japanese copy and decent dictionary I can't say for certain.

Atlan wrote:THere i found Umi- which means sea. But a few lines down i noticed an entry- Umisen/Yamisen. And i was reminded of the Forbiden Techniques from the manga- The Umisenken, the Thousand sea fist, which lets the person turn invisible, amoung other things, and the Yamsenken, The THousand Mountain Fist, letting the practitioner throw vacume blades.
But in the dictionarry, it said-Umisen/Yamisen. Old (timer, person, campainer, man). Which makes them a lot less fearsome sounding. So- two of the most deadly tequniques in the whole manga can be interperted as meaning 'Old man fist' or 'Old timer fist'.

Actually, if you look at the kanji correctly, you'll see that the "old codger" reference is not to either "umisen" or "yamasen", but to the combination of the two together. It is literally "thousand seas thousand mountains" which ends up being translated as "old codger". And yes, given Takahashi's love of layering her puns 4 and 5 deep, the reference in the "ken" forms is most likely quite deliberate on her part.
-Togashi Gaijin-

so- i wonder what Moko takabishia means? Or shi shi hokodan? The Chestneut fist (cant spell the armigukan, see) or the breaking point?
Unrelated to ranma, in dbz, you know Bibidi, his son Babidi, and the monster Majin Buu? THere's a japanese nursery rhime which goes Bibidi babdi buu... in one part.

Here from http://www.furinkan.com/ranma/character ... cters.html and click on the
respective character:
Now I begin to wonder why some doesn't use my link list
http://www.geocities.com/hiryoshotenha/main-Links.html
I didn't mention a technique twice...
Ranma:
"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken" or "Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire" (Chestnuts Roasting Over an Open Fire Punch) (Chestnut Fist)
"Hiryu Shoten Ha" or "Dragon's Heaven Blast" (Rising Dragon Hurricane)
"Hiryu Korin Dan" or "Dragon's Descending Crashing Wave"
"Moko Takabisha or "Pride of the Fierce Tiger" (Fierce Tiger Ball))
"Cat Fist" or "Neko Ken"
"Saotome Secret Technique (Fast Break)"
"Saotome School Final Attack - Man Muss Project (Anime Only)"
"Saotome Shooting Star Kick"
Genma:
"Umi-senken" or "Thousand-Seas"
"Cradle from Hell"
"Super Secret Ninja Tricks (Anime Only)"
"Humiliating Photo-Fu"
Ryoga:
"Bakusai Tenketsu" or "Breaking Point" (Breaking Point/Earth Tremor Attack)
"Shishi Hokodan" or "Lion's Roar Shot" (Roaring Lion/Depression Blast):
Cologne:
"Splitting Cat Hairs (Anime Only)"
Shampoo:
"Xi Fang Xiao" or "Memory Loss Shiatsu Technique"
Mousse
"Keiran-ken" or "Hen Egg Fist"
"Dachokyaku" or "Ostrich Kick"
"Takazumeken" or "Hawk's Talon" (Hawk Talon Attack)
"Hakuchoken" or "Fist of the White Swan"
"Exploding Eggs"
Ukyo:
"Noodle Lariat"
"Tempura Flakes" (mixed with gunpowder)
Kuno:
"One Hundred Strikes"
"Watermelon Splitter"
"A Thousand Clubs"
"Senpou-ken Whirlwind: (Anime-only)"
Kodachi:
"Razor Hoop"
"Spiked Club"
Happosai:
"Battle Aura"
"Happo Daikarin" or "Happo Fire Burst (Happosai Burning Fire Blast/Fire Burn)"
"Happo Five Yen Satsu"
"Happo No Yen Coin Return"
"Happo Hermit Crab Fist:"
"Happo Extradimensional Warp (Anime Only)"
"Happo Beanjam Blowout (Anime Only)"
"Okuhida Hurricane" or "Silky Storm"
Mikado:
"Dance of Death"
"The Goodbye Whirl "
King:
"Joker Shower"
Herb:
"Flying Sword of the Dragon"
"Soaring Dragon Spirit"
Mint:
"Wolf Fang Meteor Bullets"
Mariko:
"Nyoibo Baton Crash" (Nyoibo is the name of the 'extending stick' from the character of the legend of Goku)
"Love Bursting Out All Over"
"The Fireworks of Love"
"The Shower of Confidence"
"Love's Deepest Cut"
"Quicksand of Love"
"Flying Sea Urchin Pom-Pom Love Bomb"
"Black Widow Ensnaring of the Lover Ribbons"
"Zombie of Love"
Hayato:
"Barrage of 800 Blows"
"Octopus Jar Drop"
"Octopus Ball Spin"
Pink&Link:
"Mandrake" or "Mandragora"
"Poisonious Male Flower of Weakness / Medicinal Female Flower of Love Mix"
"Poison and Attack Pads"
Ryu:
Yama-Senken:
-"Flight of the Tight-Bind Golden Threads"
-"Fierce Tiger Gate Open Blast"
-"Demon God Multiple Strike"
-"Violent Dance of the Demon God Horde"
Rouge:
"Asura Fire"
Rakkyosai:
"Kocho Ranbu" or "Wild Butterfly Dance"
Here a detailed list that is too much for me to write:
http://www.wot-club.org.uk/RanmaFAQ/art ... tml#ranma1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranma_Saotome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genma_Saotome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shampoo_%2 ... aracter%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_%2 ... aracter%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mousse_%28 ... aracter%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatewaki_Kuno
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodachi_Kuno
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukyo_Kuonji
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tofu_Ono
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinako_Ninomiya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryoga_Hibiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happosai
I hope that helps a bit

Atlan wrote:Unrelated to ranma, in dbz, you know Bibidi, his son Babidi, and the monster Majin Buu? THere's a japanese nursery rhime which goes Bibidi babidi buu... in one part.

*GROAN*
I don't watch any of the DB series, so I missed that. BTW, that's not a japanese nursery rhyme - that's from Disney's Marry Poppins.
-Togashi Gaijin-

Togashi Gaijin wrote:

Atlan wrote:Unrelated to ranma, in dbz, you know Bibidi, his son Babidi, and the monster Majin Buu? THere's a japanese nursery rhime which goes Bibidi babidi buu... in one part.

*GROAN*
I don't watch any of the DB series, so I missed that. BTW, that's not a japanese nursery rhyme - that's from Disney's Marry Poppins.
-Togashi Gaijin-

It's not the only pun in that manga -- almost everything significant and a bunch of insignificant things are puns or wordplays of some kind, especially names.

I thought it was from Cinderella personally. Was that not what the fairy sang as she worked her magic?

Rei-chan wrote:I thought it was from Cinderella personally. Was that not what the fairy sang as she worked her magic?

You know - I think you're right. Just shows how loooooooong it's been since I've watched any of those old Disney things.
-Togashi Gaijin-

Hiryo wrote:"Hiryu Shoten Ha" or "Dragon's Heaven Blast" (Rising Dragon Hurricane)

I've also seen it translated as "Rising Dragon Ascension Wave". This makes sense when compared to the only translation I've seen of DB's "Kame Hame Ha", which is "Turtle Destruction/Devastation Wave".

Cyber_Skaarj wrote:

Hiryo wrote:"Hiryu Shoten Ha" or "Dragon's Heaven Blast" (Rising Dragon Hurricane)

I've also seen it translated as "Rising Dragon Ascension Wave". This makes sense when compared to the only translation I've seen of DB's "Kame Hame Ha", which is "Turtle Destruction/Devastation Wave".

I've also seen 'Spiral Dragon Rising to Heaven Wave' for Hiryu Shoten Ha.

"Hiryu Shouten Ha" can't have "hurricane" as part of it's name, since ha is an alternate word for wave, the normal word being nami.
Hurricanes are usually called taifun in Japanese, and it's where we got the word typhoon from. That's what hurricanes in the northeast Pacific are called.

"Hiryu Shoten Ha" or "Dragon's Heaven Blast" (Rising Dragon Hurricane)

A literal translation of Hiryu Shoten Ha (飛龍昇天破) would be (Flying) Dragon Ascension (to the Heavens) Wave.

Knight of L-sama wrote:I've also seen 'Spiral Dragon Rising to Heaven Wave' for Hiryu Shoten Ha.

Spiral is definitely wrong.

A literal translation of Hiryu Shoten Ha (飛龍昇天破) would be (Flying) Dragon Ascension (to the Heavens) Wave.

I just ran the kanji through Babelfish and the result was "Flying dragon passing away destruction". Interesting.