Sin título

Right away, the title breaks convention a bit this month. Normally the title refers to one singular "woman" (or "girl," as Yen Press insists on translating 女 — literally "woman" — as for some reason). This month it's women, plural.

Specifically, it's "Kakegurui Women" / 賭け狂い女たち

Specifically, it's the proper kanji form of "kakegurui"/賭け狂い, as opposed to the title version (賭ケグルイ) we see regularly, which has kanji followed by a string of katakana, likely for emphasis.

In English, "kakegurui" has been translated as "compulsive gambler." This isn't necessarily wrong, but some nuance gets left out. Kakegurui / 賭け狂い literally translates to any of the following, based on context:

Betting madness/insanity

Betting deviant/irregularity

Betting fanatic/enthusiast

One could make the argument that Yumeko is overtaken with a gambling insanity (closer to a true compulsive gambler), whereas Kirari, while still technically a kakegurui as well, is more of a gambling enthusiast: she uses gambling as a means to achieve her goals. I say this because the main difference between Yumeko and Kirari appears to be restraint. Yumeko must gamble or she withers and/or goes stir crazy, but Kirari can refuse a gamble and, as far as we've seen, be no worse for wear.

All of this to say, I'm not sure I would've chosen "Compulsive Girls" as the title for this chapter. Had it been up to me, I likely would've left it as "Kakegurui Women," so that all the different meanings of the term "kakegurui" could remain for the reader to interpret its layered meaning.

Next up is just a point of clarification:

Kirari does indeed say "Sayaka, come here, please," with the implication being "Sayaka, you should move away from Yumeko." Kirari seems to know something terrible is coming, and Yumeko is the harbinger. We joke about Kirari bringing up Yumeko when Sayaka is expressing her adoration and loyalty for Kirari, and it's definitely funny in a terrible sort of way, but Kirari has been shown to be someone who keeps her eyes on her goals, even if she has to wait and be patient: she knows Yumeko is up to no good and she needs to keep tabs on her. It explains why she insisted on knowing Yumeko's vote count last chapter even with the election decided, and I bet she knew what was coming as soon as Runa told her Yumeko didn't have any left.

What really inspired me to do a write-up for this month's release is how heavily sanitized Yumeko's opening speech was. While it is technically not wrong, the original Japanese kanji provides layered meanings, especially when coupled with the visuals we get for this speech.

In the official English release, Yumeko says this: Why do so many religions make self-control one of their core tenets? They prohibit the emotion of desire...They prohibit venting your desires...They tell you to live as if desire doesn't even exist. I could never understand that. I've never done it before. I never even thought about doing it. But now I understand. The more I restrain my desires, the greater the thrill is! That must be why god has ordered me to hold them back!

What Yumeko actually says in the original Japanese is: 何故数多の宗教がが禁欲を戒律とするのでしょうか？ 欲を抱くことを禁じ。欲を発散することも禁じ。さも欲ななど存在しないかのように生きよと。理解できませんでした。やったこともない。やろうとも思わなかったから。でも今なら解ります。禁欲するほどに快感が増すから、神は禁欲を命ぜられたのですね！

Why do so many religions have abstinence/self-control as a commandment? It is forbidden to have desire. It is forbidden to give vent to/radiate our desire. They want us to live as if desire does not exist. I couldn't understand it. I've never done it. I had never even thought of doing it. But now I understand. God commanded me to be celibate/have self-control because the more I abstain, the more pleasure I feel, don't I!?

I'm only going to touch on this briefly because I know this can be a point of contention with some of the fans of the series (and honestly because this topic could be an entire thesis on its own), but Yumeko's compulsion for gambling has, from the beginning, been visually and verbally portrayed as being an intrinsic and irresistible urge, synonymous with hunger, or — in Yumeko's case — sexual desire. The kanji being used fluctuates based on context, or exists as a way to convey multiple things at once.

For example, the kanji that was translated into "self-control" (禁欲) means "abstinence; self-control; celibacy; abnegation; asceticism."

The kanji for "desire" (欲) also means "greed; craving; desire; appetite; hunger; avarice; wants," and is the first half of the kanji used for "lust."

The English release says the more she can hold back, the bigger the thrill is, which can be interpreted in a few ways. The Japanese more explicitly says that her abstinence results in more pleasure / 快感.

The overall takeaway is this: Yumeko suppressed her irresistible desire and craving to gamble with Kirari until she found a way to circumvent it; by directing that energy into the destruction of the house pet system and, as such, Kirari's aquarium.

Which leads to minor, yet still scuffed translation...

In the official English release, Yumeko says this: President, you figured you could take me one after you took on everyone else. But Igarashi-san was with you as well.

What Yumeko actually says in the original Japanese is: 生徒会長貴女は他の方と戦った後で、私の相手をすれば良いと考えた。しかしそこには五十嵐さんがいた。

Student council president, after fighting the others, you thought that then you could deal with me. However, there was Igarashi-san.

The English release is confusing, insinuating that Sayaka was acting on Kirari's behalf somehow, when we know she acted of her own volition, even if it was ultimately intended to be for Kirari's benefit. The original Japanese is clearer: Yumeko was spiraling, until she noticed that Sayaka was out in the open, making moves that were all but certainly to benefit Kirari, and that Yumeko could use that to her advantage.

As for this next part, I just want to provide the original Japanese for comparison purposes. Again, the English here isn't necessarily wrong, but the Japanese paints a clearer picture, specifically in how Kirari asks what Yumeko got up to once she was rejected.

In the official English release, Yumeko and Kirari say this: Yumeko: Then you misjudged Igarashi-san's love. Kirari: Yes, I did. Hee hee! It all works out. ...So? Once you realized that you cannot take me on... What did you do then?

What Yumeko and Kirari actually said in the original Japanese is: Yumeko: 見誤りましたね。五十嵐さんの愛を。 Kirari: そうね。フフ。だから良いのよ。。。。それで？私と戦えないと悟った貴女は、一体何をしたの？

Yumeko: You misjudged it, didn't you? Igarashi-san's love. Kirari: Yeah, I did. [chuckle] But it's fine/good. ...So? When you realized you couldn't fight me, what on earth did you do?

The "what on earth/what the hell did you" phrasing speaks volumes: Kirari knows Yumeko has done something terrible, she's just waiting for the other shoe to drop at this point.

Next up is after Sayaka has been mobbed by the house pets. I've seen some...uh, interesting, takes on Sayaka's state during this part. Everything ranging from trying to scrounge up a DSM diagnosis to trying to trying to fabricate any reason why her nose was bleeding other than "she got hit in the face with like a hundred bricks of cash thrown by pissed off students."

I mean this in the nicest way possible: just look at what happened on the pages.

Dozens if not hundreds of house pets just threw bricks of cash AT Sayaka, many of them with quite a bit of force – you can see several students winding their arms all the way back to pitch the cash at her like they're throwing a fastball. If you don't think that would cause some damage, imagine being pelted with hundreds of inch-thick, paperback novels from just a foot or two away. (Credit to LarkinUniverse for this comparison) You could probably come away unscathed from a few with nothing more than a few paper cuts, sure, but dozens? Hundreds? Thrown with force and vengeance? Aims at your head? She's shown actively taking cash bricks to the face. She's bleeding because she got slammed with solid objects moving with speed and force, just that simple.

Anyway. Let's keep moving, we only have a few more points of clarification to go.

There's a bit of nuance that gets lost when Kirari tells Sayaka she doesn't need to worry.

In the official English release, Kirari says this: Sayaka. It's nothing for you to fret over. I'm fine being the emperor with no clothes...as long as you're there with me.

What Kirari actually says in the original Japanese is: 清華気に病むことではないわ。私は裸の王様でもいいの。貴女が付いてきてくれるなら。

Sayaka. It's nothing to worry yourself sick about. I don't care if I'm the emperor with no clothes [literally: a naked king], as long as you're with me...

Kirari seems to know that Sayaka will go beyond her usual fretting and worrying over this. The kanji Kirari uses mentions "illness/sickness," so she knows that Sayaka is going to be so shaken by this it might make her ill. And she's unfortunately right, but it's beyond the degree she may have expected, judging by her shocked expression. Sayaka is bloodied, tear-stained, and in deep shock from the experience, explaining why she's drooling, staring off into space, and muttering an apology over and over. And when I say "shock" I don't mean the "oh she got super surprised," kind of shock, I mean the clinical term used for someone who just endured trauma and needs medical attention kind of "shock" that can happen to anyone who experiences a traumatic event. And make no mistake, this is very traumatic for Sayaka: she just inadvertently destroyed the very thing she moved heaven and earth to try and protect: Kirari's beloved aquarium. Kirari doesn't care, because her love is in Sayaka, but Sayaka doesn't seem to understand that just yet.

Also as a petty aside: Enormous Ls to any and everyone who has been saying Kirari doesn't care about Sayaka for years. It says a lot that one of the first things Kirari did when she was finally fully detached from Ririka is go to dote on Sayaka in front of everyone (credits go to RayDaug for that observation), let alone the fact that she's just freely admitted — again, in front of everyone! — that she doesn't care if she looks like a fool and is powerless, just so long as Sayaka is with her.

Which leads us into Yumeko's declaration. This is one of Yumeko's classic "Sa, kakegurui mashou!"/"Now, let's get our gambling freak on!" moments. However, in this instance, the official English translates it as "Now, let us give in to our compulsion!" instead of the usual "Now, let's get our gambling freak on!" it's been using for basically the rest of the series up until this point. For the same reason as the one I gave with the title of this chapter, I'm not sure I personally would've gone with that if for the simple reason that Kirari doesn't seem to have gambling as a true addiction or compulsion the way Yumeko does. If I personally had to choose a way to bring this over into English, I might err on the side of "Now, let's give in to our gambling madness!" instead.

And now for the final speech, which I'm including because some people were wondering about the phrasing used, and that's part of the reason why I do these – for comparison! The content is more or less fine, though "love confession," is never outright said, however "love letter" is.

In the official English release, the final speech goes like this: This is nothing short of a confession of love for her. A love letter the general public could never understand. Only its recipient would comprehend it. That...or perhaps she's forced to now? But either way, just one thing is clear. She...or they...they just aren't normal. They're completely obsessed. They're just compulsive gamblers.

In the original Japanese, the final speech goes like this: これは告白だ。公衆は誰一人として理解できないラブレター。解るのは相手だけ、それとも彼女が理解らせたのか！？いずれにせよ、ただひとつ明らかなこと。彼女はもしくは彼女らはまともじゃないギャンブル狂。賭ケグルイだ。

This is a confession. A love letter that none of the public could ever understand. Only the other person/recipient can understand it...Or did she make her understand it!? Either way, only one thing is clear. She, or they, are not sane – they're gamblers. They're kakegurui.

The implication of the English translation is that Kirari is the same as Yumeko – she's just a compulsive gambler with the same intrinsic, irresistible craving as Yumeko. Whereas with the original Japanese there's room for interpretation. So far in the series, Kirari has shown shades of that gambling madness, but it isn't quite the same. The text itself admits that perhaps Kirari didn't fully grasp the depths of Yumeko's madness until now, when Yumeko has taken advantage of Sayaka's recklessness and inability to see the forest for the trees as a way to get to Kirari. For me, personally, I see Kirari's surprise and weariness here as evidence that she isn't driven by the same compulsion that Yumeko is. They may both be kakegurui, but they aren't the same kind of kakegurui.

That's it for this chapter's Lost in Translation. Hope you enjoyed reading and comparing the texts, and — until next time — I'll keep chipping away at karis. :)