Foxtale

Myth.

Someone asked me about Reno and yes, Reno’s Japanese is noticeably, distinctly weird. Just like Wedge ends his speech with “su,” Reno has a habit of ending his sentences with “zo, to” (ぞ…と). While Wedge’s “su” is something you’d hear in real life, “zo, to” means absolutely nothing and is a made-up character quirk. All the same, “zo, to” still manages to convey a lot about Reno. This post is going to be long.

1. First of all, Reno talks like a gutter punk. 

Consider a Turk like Tseng or Rude. Tseng’s language is polished. He says things like 申し訳ない (deepest apologies) and not ごめん (sorry) or もはや不可能だ (alas, no longer a possibility) instead of something like ダメだ (no can do). That kind of polished, professional language fits the whole “upper management Black Ops in business suits” thing with the Turks. 

Reno’s language isn’t just more casual and rough compared to Tseng. He slurs his pronunciation and rolls his “r’s” like a chinpira from a yakuza movie. He shouts yakuza-like things like “Ora ora” which has no singular meaning but is a sort of aggressive warning, depending on the context. Jpn: オラオラ Eng sub (from when he was shooting down Cloud from the helicopter): “Gotcha now!”   My trans: Can range from “hey hey hey” to “Imma fuck ya up” depending on how aggressive you think Reno is being.  

2. So okay then. WTF is “Zo, to”? Even if it is a made-up word, they could have imagined Reno to say anything. It could have been “moo moo” or “ping pong” ending all his sentences for all we know. So let’s break it down…

Ending with a “zo” alone is not unusual at all in Japanese. It is a very masculine, casual way to give strong emphasis to what you just said. Consider Cloud’s 5000000 statements of “Let’s go,” always in the casual but more aggressive 行くぞ (iku-zo) or his “I’m strong!” 俺、強いぞ (ore, tsuyoi-zo). Ending with “to” alone is also not that unusual. This is common in conversations; you’d  abbreviate by dropping the second half of the sentence (usually the verb). However Reno pronounces it like a more emphatic echo of “zo” - like zo TO.   

So, imo, the meaningless combination of “Zo…to” is linked to an almost stupid need to emphasize aggressiveness, masculinity, and very casual speech. And that is exactly what a young punk would talk like.

3. The localizers did a good job with this. You can tell they had fun grasping the general vibe of gutter punk/chinpira Reno, even if things aren’t a direct translation. Some examples of his bordering on silly, hyper-aggressive speech:

Jpn: 意地悪しちゃうぞ　と Eng sub: Two birds with one shitload of bullets! Literal Eng: Something like “Imma bully you!”

Jpn: 逃がさねえぞ　と Eng sub: And where do you think you’re going? Literal Eng: Something like “Don’t you run away”

Jpn: ザコ相手になにやってんだよ。 Eng sub: Huh? Our guys are seriously struggling to take down these assholes? Literal Eng: Something like “WTF are they doing with these lameass guys?”

Jpn: お仕事だぞ　と Eng sub: It’s nothing personal…bitch! Literal Eng: Something like “It’s just work” Jpn: あんたら　ケンカ売る相手を間違えたぞ　と Eng sub: Sorry, losers! Gotta play for keeps today. No time to dick around. Literal Eng: Something like “You picked a fight with the wrong guy”

Jpn: さあ　楽しもうぜ　相棒！ Eng sub: C’mon! Let’s teach ‘em the Turks two-step! Literal Eng: Something like “Alright, let’s have some fun Partner!”

Jpn: タックスなめんなよ Eng sub: You ain’t got shit on us. Literal Eng: Something like “Don’t underestimate us Turks”

There are some cultural differences that are interesting to note in the Train Graveyard scene. But first, some photo context: Tifa is usually the one protecting Aerith but when they enter the haunted train yard, Aerith tells scared Tifa to get behind HER in this moment. Very sweet.  When the first ghost boss (can’t recall it’s name) is defeated, Aerith seems to be reading what the monster is thinking. She is surprised because…. Jpn: 隠れん坊…? Eng: “That was fun”…? My trans: “Hide and seek?”

In Japan, Hide and Seek is called kakurenbo (the word is literally something like “hidden boy”). It is different from how we play Hide and Seek in America (or at least how I remember playing it).   1. The kid looking for the others is called Demon (Oni) and not “It.” 2. Oni covers his eyes and counts to 10 or whatever.  3. Then Oni says “Are you ready now?” or “Mo ii kai?” whereas “It” just says “Ready OR NOT, here I come.”  4. The other kids have to answer “I’m ready!” or “Mo ii yo!”  or otherwise the Oni gives them more time to hide. 5. When you find someone, the kid usually say “I found you!” (mitsuketa). 6. The other thing is, there is a Japanese urban legend about “1 person hide and seek” (hitori kakurenbo). It involves hiding from demons that you basically compel into a stuffed animal at 3am and that’s all I want to write about because it is scary. You can google it in English too. Basically it is a pretty NEW kind of urban legend but there is even a wikipedia article and a few recent horror movies about it. I’d say the creepy possibilities of Hide and Seek are still in the consciousness of many Japanese players.

Why is this important? You hear the pattern of words throughout this entire scene. When they are creeping through each area and Aerith finds a ghost, she says teasingly “I found you!” (mitsuketa). In Aerith’s sad memory of being isolated from her peers, you can hear the other kids doing their little Marco-Polo-like call back to each other. The same Japanese words are repeated each time, as would be in kakurenbo. The English is different every time because there is no part of that in Hide and Seek. So…

「もういいかい/mo ii kai」becomes “Are you ready?” and “Well are you?” 「もういいよ〜/mo ii yo」becomes “I’m ready now!” “Me too!” Child Aerith’s words become “I said I’m ready” or “Come get me!” or “I’m right here.”  「みつけった/mitsuketta」　becomes “Found you!” and “We found you!” 「みつかった・みつかっちゃた/mitsukatta, mitsuka-chatta」becomes　No way! and “Aw, you got me.”

Similarly, when Tifa finds Aerith, they exchange the set pattern of words that kids use in kakurenbo. I find it to be a much more powerful exchange just due to the meaning that is now embedded in those words. Tifa is the one who finally “completes” the childhood game by finding/including Aerith and to whom Aerith can finally give her response to. The impact just isn’t quite the same in English since different language is used each time, imo. 

Tifa says Jpn: 「みつけた　エアリス」mitsuketa Aerith   Eng: “Hey. We found you.” 

Aerith replies Jpn「みつかっちゃった」mitsukachatta Eng: “I guess you did.” The true friendship between Tifa and Aerith gets well established in these scenes.      

Did you know that when Tseng takes Aerith back to Shinra, he makes yet another reference to “Hide and Seek”/kakurenbo?

I didn’t plan to draw this especially for SephirothWeek, but I think the idea of ​​this art is suitable for the theme of the last day (Redemption) Art © Me