Bleach Wiki:Translation Corner/Archive 7

Beware Spurious Translations
With some words, mostly terms and names--esp. those which appear in the non-canon filler, and so cannot be researched as can material from the manga--there's a temptation to play games with "false friends" within the Japanese language itself; in other words, fans eager to find/know the meaning/Kanji of this person's name, or that new Zanpakutō, will use whatever resources are available to find Japanese words/elements that sound/look like these words and, frequently, edit in their selections as the de facto translations for these terms on their pages.

Unfortunately, much more often than not, this amounts to nothing more than wild mass guessing. In a language where there are a ton of elements which can all be read kō alone--not to mention that it's precisely this possible confusion that keeps Japanese from abandoning the lovely but complex Chinese Kanji as its writing system--playing the "close enough" game is a good way to proliferate die-hard false information.

As sucky as it is to not know what the correct meaning and spelling of words is, please refrain from just jamming hunches or possibilities into edits of pages as though they were confirmed, whenever you can. Admittedly, even "official" or more reputable-seeming sources (such as TV Tokyo, I think someone said) may prove erroneous; but it's far better to wait for them to appear in these more reputable (usu. Japanese) sources than to put in an educated guess that may well be wrong.

If it's an issue of expediency, i.e. if a word remains without translation longer than you think it should (given the duration of its appearance in the series, perhaps), please come and post here in the Corner to bring a sharper focus onto it, and we'll see if we can't amend such omissions more quickly. :) Adam Restling (talk) 10:41, October 5, 2011 (UTC)

Longstanding Errors: How They Got--And Stay--That Way
Since BLEACH is ongoing, the especial focus re: names and terms and all that will be on the newer material that emerges as the series progresses, leaving older material more-or-less alone as "settled"--or at least less pressing.

However, this doesn't mean there aren't errors galore left to be found in the older material, whether they be typographical--e.g. finger-errors--or things like uncontested mistranslations that have been around so long people never think to investigate. One of the examples of this I like to use to illustrate is that detailed here: early scanslators referred to the Koutotsu as "seimichio", and the Seireitei as, at turns, "torore" and "toroel". A more recent case is the one I make about Kaien Shiba's Nejibana (see below).

But anyone who does peruse older stuff and discovers unfixed goofs and the like is, of course, encouraged (as this section's criteria state) to bring them up here, in the Corner, in a post. Adam Restling (talk) 04:22, December 28, 2011 (UTC)

Yamamoto Really the "Founder" of the Gotei 13?
Hey guys, can I have a second opinion on this (heading Founder)? I'm contesting the official translation of the SOULs databook, which states on page 98 that Yamamoto is the founder of the Gotei 13, but the Japanese original merely says he's their current commander (at least, that's what I read). Also, in chapter 223 he says "The location of the Ouken is a fact passed on verbally from Captain Commander to Captain Commander in the Gotei 13", implying that he's not the first Captain-Commander. I'd be nice to settle this issue. Thank you in advance, Mapar007 (talk) 22:06, January 25, 2012 (UTC)


 * If the original Japanese text you provided is accurate (it's hard for me to summon up certain raws in a timely fashion XD), you seem to be correct: the sequence 十三隊を統括する Juusantai wo toukatsusuru means "unifies/supervises the Thirteen Troops" (= what many usu. call "the Thirteen Squads"); the semantic shift could probably be understood as "bringing together" > "keeping together, making sure it stays together, overseeing". But "found", again as you mentioned, doesn't seem to be a common usage; one would expect hajimeru, kakuritsusuru, or something similar. The sentence concludes with 総隊長も兼任 soutaichou mo kennin, meaning he supervises the Thirteen Troops "(while) concurrently serving as all-captain" (= what many call "captain-commander").


 * But even still, as you guys have already said, all the other evidence (such as the location of the Ouken being passed from all-captain to all-captain) suggests that there have been other all-captains before Yamamoto anyway. The fact that Viz made a mistake is no real surprise when one recalls their making Cero = "Doom Blast" = "Doom Cero", etc. but I try not to be too hard on them; they're generally far better than the monsters who What's Up, Tiger Lily? Ikkitousen into "Battle Vixens", or bowdlerize Tenjou Tenge. Good catch :). Adam Restling (talk) 04:17, January 31, 2012 (UTC)

Nejibana's Release Call
During research on another issue, I was spurred to investigate the translation of the release call of Nejibana, Kaien Shiba's Zanpakutou, which is currently "rankle the seas and the skies", and found it seems to be incorrect.

I go into greater length on this, my reasoning, and why such things have gone unnoticed for so long here, but in summation, I think a translation like "surge water(s) and sky/heaven" would be more appropriate and accurate. Please let me know what you think :).

P.S. I put this post here, instead of the next section, mainly because this cited a likely error, rather than a request-for-translation. Adam Restling (talk) 04:22, December 28, 2011 (UTC)

"Daichimaru" Kanji
Here I am again. About Rusaburou's Zanpakutou Daichimaru... With 'daichi' 大地 meaning 'the land' (the Zanpakutou is a rock type) and 'maru' 丸 apparently being a very common name suffix with Zanpakutou's, I thought the kanji should be 大地丸, but the edit I made was (understandably) reverted. Does anyone disagree, or can't we be sure enough with anime-only names? Thanks in advance, Mapar007 (talk) 22:16, January 25, 2012 (UTC)


 * According to the Japanese Wiki, the Kanji are 大地丸 for Ruzaburou's Zanpakutou.


 * To the second point, though: even though filler characters seem to be where the anime production staff gives the least damns (XD) in terms of their creativity in naming filler characters/elements, it's still dangerous to simply add Kanji--as though confirmed--to names based on only possible relations; the same thing led to erroneous attribution of Kanji, based only on sound-alikeness, on the pages for Yushima and Inaba. My advice would be: if you notice what seems like an error in, or a lack of, say, Kanji, for a name or term--filler or otherwise--is to bring it to this Corner, and we'll see if we can find an official(ish) source for the data we're lacking... rather than just possibly- or likely-incorrect guesswork :). Adam Restling (talk) 04:57, January 31, 2012 (UTC)

Sasakibe's middle name
Chapter 486 reveals that his middle name is "Tadaoki". Here are the raws. It would be great if somebody could make out the kanji. -- The Goblin   I'm feelin' the flow   19:16, March 28, 2012 (UTC)
 * It's "忠息(ただおき)". -- Женёq (talk) 04:32, April 3, 2012 (UTC)

Ivan Azgiaro or Azgiallo Ebern
Mangareader called this dude Ivan Azgiaro but Mangastream called him Azgiallo Ebern. Which is the right one. I couldn't find the raw for the chapter but I did find the katakana if that's ok.--Kisukeiscool100396 (talk) 18:56, February 15, 2012 (UTC)

アズギアロ・イーバーン

WAIT! I found the raw! http://s1.mangahead.com/mangas/Manga-Raw-Scan/Bleach/Bleach-481-Raw-Scan/17.jpg --Kisukeiscool100396 (talk) 23:03, February 19, 2012 (UTC)


 * Good job :) but oh, crap :O XD! I thought we'd left Arrancar(ish), impossible-to-tell-how-it's-spelled names behind in the last arc, but here we have another one. Maybe Kubo will throw us a bone (like he did for Yukio's and Jackie's surnames) but, if not, we may have to wait until the next databook (whenever it might come out) for the official spelling, just like we did with the Arrancar.


 * The only things Mangastream's version has going for it are a) it's in the order he [the character] gives it in (Mangareader reverses it, as they would a Japanese name, for some reason), and b) it's spelled w/more *zazz* (XD). However, with the katakana spelling (Azugiaro Ībān), either "Azgiallo Ebern" or "Azgiaro Ivan" is theoretically plausible, if unconfirmed... unless Mangastream knows something we don't, and this secret knowledge informed their spelling.


 * So until this confirmation might come, there's no prevailing evidence for one or the other. Adam Restling (talk) 12:59, February 21, 2012 (UTC)

So if anything, the admins should flip the order of this guy's name on his page?--Kisukeiscool100396 (talk) 00:16, March 1, 2012 (UTC)


 * No we usually leave things until official proof is provided and Adam and the corner translates!!

Ok, I was just asking because he said Mangareader dun goofed and filped the guys name for some reason so I thought that meant the page should be changed to Azgiaro Ivan.--Kisukeiscool100396 (talk) 04:39, March 1, 2012 (UTC)

Vandenreich
Now that chapter 483 is out one thing is on everyone's mind.. WHAT THE HELL DOES VANDENRECIH MEAN!? I found the RAW this time but I couldn't find the Katakana or the Kanji Kubo uses--Kisukeiscool100396 (talk) 20:55, February 29, 2012 (UTC)


 * I managed to locate the kanji — 見えざる帝国 — but the Katakana in that raw are too small for me to even hazard an attempt. Blackstar1 (talk) 21:04, February 29, 2012 (UTC)

I got the Katakana!--Kisukeiscool100396 (talk) 21:11, February 29, 2012 (UTC)

ヴァンデンライヒ

Roughly Japanese and German for "Invisible Empire". maggosh 02:16, March 1, 2012 (UTC)


 * "Vanden" doesn't exist in German as an actual word. It seems to be a Dutch/Danish word . -- The Goblin   Talk  02:25, March 1, 2012 (UTC)
 * The Dutch-German combination would mean "Empire of the ____", while the Danish-German combination - "Empire of (Soft) Water". -- The Goblin   Talk  02:38, March 1, 2012 (UTC)
 * You got it backwards; "van den reich" would be "___ of the empire/realm". MarqFJA (talk) 19:05, March 2, 2012 (UTC)
 * The word "Reich" is mainly translated as "Empire", but it can also mean "Kingdom" or "Realm". -- The Goblin   Talk   02:41, March 1, 2012 (UTC)

Iacto Arme
What does Iacto Arme mean? Mangareader is unsure how to translate it! So here is the kanji, katakana and the RAW --Kisukeiscool100396 (talk) 17:20, April 2, 2012 (UTC)

狩獵部隊 (ヤークトアルメー) http://mangahead.com/index.php/Manga-Raw-Scan/Bleach/Bleach-486-Raw-Scan/16.jpg?action=big&size=original


 * Hm. Ran the kanji; apparently translates as something like "Game-Hunting Corps," but 獵 is an uncommon symbol of unlisted kanji, but the hypothetical pronunciation of the kanji is something like "Kariryō Butai", while the katakana is "Yākuto Arumē" (I think...). --Reikson (talk) 21:14, April 2, 2012 (UTC)
 * Iacto Arme is Latin, apparently meaning something like "I Disturb the Unity" or some such. We'll probably have to get some ancient Latin experts into this translation business, at least until this saga is over... --Reikson (talk) 21:14, April 2, 2012 (UTC)

Mangareader translated the Kanji as Hunting Unit but did not translate the Latin (I probably should of been more clear when I first posted) Maybe we will just have to wait and see the WSJA translation.--Kisukeiscool100396 (talk) 03:29, April 3, 2012 (UTC)

Tenken's Special Ability
Someone on Komamura's talk page brought up that Tenken's ability is described as being able to summon any giant limb, even though it has only ever been used to summon arms. Does his page from MASKED mention anything about the ability that could clear this up? Mohrpheus  (Talk)  16:18, April 30, 2011 (UTC)

Byakuya's Blood Type
This page from Unmasked apparently says that Byakuya's blood type is AB as opposed to the previous O which was given in past databooks. Can I get a confirmation on this please.--

Ishida technique in the fourth film
Hello. My question is this. So that the fourth film, Ishida used to Taikon, Gerd Sprenger it? Is that one writes, and what has kanji and romaji. Thank you in advance. 11:10, August 31, 2011 (UTC)


 * I tried looking this one up via its likely katakana spelling, but was unable to find anything other than citations of just "Sprenger" by itself. FYI, this technique, 破芒陣（シュプレンガー） Shupurengā, seems to be intended as German for "blaster"; the underlying Kanji mean "awn-rending array".


 * If I find anything on a Gerd Sprenger or the like, I'll try to let you all know :). Adam Restling (talk) 21:54, August 31, 2011 (UTC)


 * I noticed that there is but a word Gert, not Gerd. What is so kanji and translation Gert? 01:16, December 11, 2011 (UTC)

Correct Kanji for Addiction Shot
The Kanji for Addiction Shot on Riruka's page is incorrect. Here is the correct one and here is the proof .--Kisukeiscool100396 (talk) 23:23, November 4, 2011 (UTC)

アディクション・ショット


 * Seems whoever came up with the kanji that was on the page went to google translate and converted the English phrase "Addiction Shot" to kanji rather than looking at the raw and copying the kanji that was actually used by Kubo. It has been fixed now. Thanks Kisukeiscool 11:20, November 5, 2011 (UTC)

Vandenreich and other related terms
Whilst I understand that the correct translation of the katakana is always going to be a source of contention until Kubo provides confirmation, I was hoping one of the more trusted translators can begin to provide accurate translations of at least the (literal) English for the following terms. Blackstar1 (talk) 00:33, April 6, 2012 (UTC)


 * - the 'の' used is seemingly dropped in chapter 487
 * - the 'の' used is seemingly dropped in chapter 487


 * * Several people, including myself, took a stab at both Vandenreich and the Iacto Arme thing, but Salubri moved them to the seventh page of this page's Archives, but the kanji that I saw there was different. --Reikson (talk) 06:20, April 6, 2012 (UTC)
 * * The kanji for the Hunting Captain is apparently Tōkatsu Shuryōtaichō and can be translated as "Controlling Safari Leader." --Reikson (talk) 06:20, April 6, 2012 (UTC)
 * * Additionally, "Iacto Arme" is apparently Latin, but good luck trying to find someone to translate THAT on such short notice. --Reikson (talk) 06:20, April 6, 2012 (UTC)

I was aware of the previous attempts but you've misinterpreted my intention here, as I merely wanted confirmation of the literal translations of the kanji and nothing more (e.g. 見えざる帝国 = Invisible Empire) because I understood that the German/Latin would always be contentious.

Anyway, could I ask your reason for interpreting 狩猟隊長 as "Safari Leader" rather than "Hunting Captain"? While I don't know Japanese, is typically translated as "captain" here and, both tangorin and other translators give 狩猟 as "hunting". Blackstar1 (talk) 12:13, April 6, 2012 (UTC)


 * That was an arbitrary decision on my part, because the translator I used said that 狩猟隊 translated this as "safari; troop of Hunters" hence why I did it. I don't speak Japanese, nor do I know its intricacies.  You'd be better off asking Adam Restling for his opinion, apparently. --Reikson (talk) 16:48, April 6, 2012 (UTC)

Sorry for my absence, friends: daylight-savings time + computer trouble has been ****ing me up. But lo! I think I've some worthwhile insight at last, at least in certain areas, to be apportioned out in the below:

"Vandenreich" - I've no idea what this is supposed to mean in Kubo's shaky German derivation, except that Reich is German for "realm, kingdom" (still a common word despite its darkening in the Western imagination at large)--and in this I concur with the majority of other translators. Likewise, its underlying Kanji, 見えざる帝国, do seem to mean "invisible empire" (miezaru teikoku), again as others have said; the pronunciation katakana seem to be ヴァンデンライヒ Vandenraihi. If there's a secret, truer spelling of "Vandenreich", it may have to wait for another databook to tell us. The closest German words that could relate to "invisible" I could find were Wahn "delusion" (pronounced like [vān]) (but, sic, not *Wahnd(e)) or, more of s stretch, Wand "wall, barrier" (pronounced like [vānt]). It seems unlikely to mean, as some have suggested, of the realm, esp. since (at least in modern German) the element "of" is von, not *van, not to mention no apparent link with "invisible"; I hope Kubo tells us someday.

But the above name seems to confirm that German motif of the "Vandenreich" nomenclature, and a quick search of the katakana (thanks to Reikson and others for furnishing it) was, happily, illuminating: I'm pretty sure the martial force featured in the last two chapters is neither Spanish nor Latin, but actually meant to be the Jagdarmee "hunting army" (German Jagd "hunt(ing)" + Armee "army"). If the characters posted elsewhere are correct (not sure where to find easy raws), then they are 狩獵部隊 Shuryou Butai "hunting corps/force", with the pronunciation katakana ヤークトアルメー Yākutoarumē. The German form would be pronounced as something close to [yākt-ar-mē]; the to at the end of Yāku to  is merely part of Japanese phonological rules (with its phonemes needing to end in either a vowel or n).

If the Kanji are correct, again, then the Jagdarmee's leader is the "executive hunting captain" or "hunting captain general", 統括狩猟隊長 toukatsu shuryou taichou: toukatsu is "unification", but also used for "executive, general, supervising" (e.g. in toukatsu buchou "executive manager"), and taichou is our familiar word "captain" (more lit. "troop chief/head"; compare the origin of English captain from Latin caput, stem capit- "head"--itself the origin of chief, too). ... P.S. Did this one have any pronunciation katakana I don't know of?

Hope this helped. :) Adam Restling (talk) 08:08, April 9, 2012 (UTC)


 * Thanks Adam, such detailed translations and accompanying explanations are always worth the wait, so don't worry about it. MangaHead is probably the most well-known place for viewing raws, although they don't actually retain the chapters for that long. Also, there was no pronunciation katakana for the "executive hunting captain". Blackstar1 (talk) 13:13, April 9, 2012 (UTC)