How vocal music should be subtitled (in my opinion)
Everything that follows is just my opinions based on my preferences, so take it with a grain of sodium chloride.
A lot of people complain about official translations (by international companies) not being as good as the fan-made translations (fansubs) due to a variety reasons. There are some cases in which I agree. For example, fan subtitled often translate very literally, while professional companies will instead substitute an English phrase that has a similar meaning. As a result, the official translations will sound much more natural, while the fansubs can sometimes have awkward English strewn about.
The official translations are much better for English speakers who have no experience with Japanese language, society, or culture, but if you do posses some degree of knowledge on these subjects, the more literal translations may be preferable, as they remain more faithful to the original script. The awkward English sentences don’t really matter because you’re not really depending on the full English translation at this point - you have some familiarity with Japanese sentences and their structure, and what you really need is help with vocabulary that you are unfamiliar with. That’s where subtitles are still helpful - they’re an instant dictionary of sorts. The more literal translations allow you to fill in the missing blanks of vocabulary and get a good grasp of what is actually being said. All the same, if you’re trying to introduce anime or Japanese media to a newcomer, the official translations are preferable as they make more sense in English.
But there’s one thing I really dislike about fan-translations and that is the way that vocal music is subtitled. This can be insert songs in the middle of series, or it could be opening and ending themes. What I don’t like about how fansub groups usually subtitle these segments is the use of “karaoke” and special effects. When watching an animation, you want to be able to enjoy the work of the artist, which is the artwork and animation you see in front of you. Yet in a lot of modern fansubs, the screen is plastered with three, yes, three lines of text. One for the Japanese romaji, one for Japanese script, and one for the English translation. Example:
I don’t really see the point of this. I can hear the Japanese audio just fine, so is it really necessary to write both the romaji and Japanese script down? I understand that the point of this is to be able to “sing along”, but how many people are really sitting in front of their screens singing along as they watch a series? And for those people do like singing along, there are plenty of lyrics websites on the internet, aren’t there? I guess I don’t enough reason to justify covering the screen this way, particularly when watching an animation, where artwork is so important. And it’s even worse in opening sequences that have a lot of movement and color, because then the subtitles are essentially “competing” for attention with your eyes. I would personally would prefer if the subtitles were tucked into a corner of the screen, so to understand the lyrics, you could glace there when necessary, and otherwise be able to enjoy the fine presentation the directors and artists have crafted.
Now, I simply can’t tolerate this, though:
The second most distasteful thing about this (the first is the fact that Shuuji is smoking) is that the fansub group is putting karaoke style lyrics….during a scene. I find that sort of…..inappropriate. I mean, this is an atmospheric, wistful scene, with a background song inserted to contribute to that feel….but plastering bright, animated text like that detracts a lot from the experience that was intended when viewing it…..I mean, if I thought few people were actually singing along to opening songs, I wonder how many actually decide to sing along during scenes themselves? Again, why not just have a translation in the corner for anyone interested…
I suppose it just goes back to my opinion that when translating or doing any other kind of manipulation (like, say, remastering) you should try and be as faithful to the original work as possible. I think all of this flashy text and karaoke effects really kind of detracts from the work that the directors have put into their work and the experience that they want you to have.
2 responses so far
I don’t care much for flashy karaoke, though I do appreciate having the option. As far as fansubs go, technology is out there so that you can have multiple subtitles in one file. One recent example would be fansub group GG’s version of Macross Frontier’s final episode.
Macross is inherently a very musical show, and the last episode in particular is like a 20-minute AMV with singing almost constantly throughout. GG’s version allows you to choose whether or not you want the karaoke for the songs displayed (which defaults to ‘off’).
So, I think if fansubbers used this feature more often, particularly for insert songs in an episode, this can be alleviated. I think retail DVDs have been doing something like this for a while, be it subtitles for insert songs or translations for signs and all that stuff.
some animes can have the subtitles taken out via CCCP. Dont know if the karaoke is taken out though