Reflection in Midnight Blue

This J-Novel translation is not very different from the one in Tokyopop, but the way it is written here fascinates me in how Lina is being diverted and distracted from her original intent (which is hitting and being mad at Gourry as a way of releasing her frustration and worry xD).

I wasn’t quite sure what to say. But Duclis’s final words troubled me. “Grouz’s Zanaffar”? Was he saying there was another Zanaffar out there?! And that it was even more what? While I was thinking all that over…

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” Gourry exclaimed, plopping a hand on my head.

Wham! I tossed and uppercut straight into his jaw.

“Wha… What was that for?!”

“What do you think?! Darn it… Where the heck have you been?!”

“Huh, where else? Looking for you and Amelia.”

“Ohhhhh reeeally… Then let me ask you a question.” I siiidled up next to Gourry. “It would be one thing for you to show up where we got separated, or even in Mayin where the enemy base was… so what the heck are you doing showing up here in this total red herring of a place?!”

Lina has a totally valid point here! I agree with her. So suspicious of Gourry!

“Oh! That’s it!” Gourry clapped his hands in sudden realization.

“What’s it?”

Gourry diverting Lina intentionally!

“Mayin! See, after we got separated, I managed to give those werebeast guys the slip. Then I searched the area but couldn’t find anyone. I was gonna head back to the village where their base was… But, heck of a thing… I ended up forgetting what it was called and where it was! So after wandering a while, I just sorta ended up here…”

Whap! I swatted Gourry in the head with a slipper.

“How’d you manage to get lost on a simple straight road?! Do you realize what your goo-for-brains antics have put me through?!”

“H-Hey! Wait a minute!”

Another intentional diversion! Nobody can convince me that Gourry is not doing this intentionally, knowing fully well what he is doing.

“Don’t even try to make excuses!”

“No, not that! I just wanna know where you got the slipper!”

“My pocket!”

“Why do you have a slipper in your pocket?!”

“I thought something like this might happen, so I swiped it from an inn a while back!”

“You thought… what might happen?”

There was a moment’s silence, and then Amelia chimed in: “Hey, Lina! We don’t have time for couple’s therapy right now!”

“Couple’s therapy?!”

“Didn’t that werebeast say that their base was outside of Mayin?”

By now Lina has absolutely forgotten her original intent... xD xD

“Yeah… I think he said south, past the lake…”

Now, let’s go for the REALLY interesting differences in the translations. I’m of course talking about the parts were Lina and Gourry are concerned. I read the J-NOVEL translation of the fight with Kanzel… and it was like I was reading it for the first time. Not because the translation changed the events, not at all, but I think the way everything was written in the J-NOVEL translation made everything more intense.

Some examples:

TOKYOPOP version:

Kanzeil stopped at the entry to the meadow and turned to us. “We have arrived at our destination,” he announced. “The gentleman must now depart and leave us to our business.”

I definitely didn’t want Gourry to go. “Oh, c’mon,” I drawled as convincingly as I could. “Just let him stay. You could beat us both with your hands tied behind your back, right?” Rule Number One for getting an opponent to lose the advantage: stroke his ego.

Kanzeil glared at me with his snakelike yes, then flicked them over to Gourry. “As you wish,” he replied after a moment. “Shall we begin?”

But we were way ahead of him; Gourry and I had already sprinted off across…

J-NOVEL version:

“Now, say your goodbyes to your companion. It’s nearly time.”

We’d reached a clearing – a large green field about the size of a city block. The path…

……

Kanzel stopped in his tracks, finally turning back to me for the first time.

“Nothing to say? No farewell?” he asked.

“I still think I can win,” I answered honestly.

“As you like. Then let us begin.”

Fwsh! On Kanzel’s cue, Gourry and I took off running…

 Wait… what? How I wish I could read the originals in Japanese! In the J-NOVEL version Lina states that she thinks she can win and in the TOKYPOP version she almost delivers a whole speech on how Kanzel has the advantage.

 TOKYOPOP version:

Kanzeil raised his arm. A magic light, as thin as a thread, shot from one of his fingertips and made a beeline for me.

“Not today!” Gourry boomed. He threw himself in front of me to deflect the beam with his Sword of Light. But just before it came within reach, the magic beam suddenly zigzagged around Gourry and shot right into my legs.

J-NOVEL version:

Kanzel’s arm moved. He turned his hand toward me, shooting four thread-like peals of magical light from his fingers.

“Not a chance!” Gourry shouted, diving in front of me.

He meant to shield me with his own body and cut through the incoming magical blasts with the Sword of Light!

“Gourry!” I cried.

But he stayed put. The magical light, however… Right before it hit him, it changed course!

Ah, if only I had time to dodge –

The four rays circled around Gourry and pierced through my legs! With a silent scream, I fell into the grass.

 OMG! This might seriously rival all of my other favorite Lina&Gourry moments! At least, the way it’s written in the J-NOVEL translation. In both translations Gourry throws himself in front of Lina to protect her, but in the TOKYOPOP version you don’t get so much the feeling that Gourry is in grave danger by doing that. However, in the J-NOVEL translation, the words are “to shield me with his own body”, and then she cries his name, obviously scared for him, but he “stayed put”.

 TOKYOPOP version:

“What’s wrong?” Kanzeil asked. “You seem disappointed.” His lips contorted into an icy – strike that, crazy – smile.

Disappointed? More like freaked beyond belief, but he was on the right track. I didn’t want to encourage him any more by wincing, so I struggled to my feet with as straight a face as possible. I needed to act, and fast. I probably only had one shot, so I figured I’d put some flavor into it.

“Back off!” Gourry shouted. “What are you trying to do?!”

Uh… kill me! Haven’t you been listening?!

Kanzeil turned his gaze to Gourry. “Do you know what Mazoku consume to live” he asked darkly, his glare…

J-NOVEL version:

“What’s wrong? You don’t seem pleased,” Kanzel said with a cold… no, a crazed smile.

No duh, bro! Who would be happy to hear they were about to be tormented to death?!

At this rate, I didn’t have a second to spare. I had to finish this guy off now, once and for all.

“Stop it! Why are you doing this?” Gourry demanded, fury writ across his face.

“Why?” Kanzel asked while slowly walking towards us. “Do you not know what demons consume to survive?”

Ah… I was stung with a terrible twinge of regret.

 Yes! Just yes!! Thank you so much J-NOVEL for not writing about Gourry like an idiot here. In the TOKYOPOP version two things always looked out of place for me. Number one is, why would Kanzel ask Lina “What’s wrong? You seem disappointed”? The translation of J-NOVEL, “You don’t seem pleased” fits better with the situation. And the second thing that looked out of place for me was Gourry asking Kanzel “What are you trying to do?”. The WHAT was bothering me. Because up to this point, with all the events from previous days, it was obvious that someone was trying to kill Lina and that someone was more than probably Kanzel. So, Lina thinks to himself “Uh… kill me! Haven’t you been listening?!, which is not strange, given that Gourry asked “What are you trying to do?”. But now in the J-NOVEL version, the question starts with WHY. “Why are you doing this?”. Gourry knows perfectly well Kanzel is trying to kill Lina, he just asks why after Kanzel says that he intends to give Lina a slow and painful death. And he not only asks why, but he also does it with fury across his face. Poor Gourry, he was not prepared to see Lina die, even less to see her die while being tortured!

Also, in the J-NOVEL version Lina is “stung with a terrible twinge of regret”. It looks like she really thought she had a chance of killing Kanzel quite easily. However, by letting him drag them to a clearing with no one around, setting him free to use his full powers, she has not only kind of doomed herself to a certain death (she had underestimated Kanzel), but also doomed herself to a painful and agonizing death at the hands of a crazy mazoku.

I just finished reading the J-NOVEL translated version of chapter 4, from Slayers volume 4 of course. Wow! I found some interesting differences in the ways J-NOVEL and TOKYOPOP translated this novel.

J-NOVEL version:

“Is this… how it must end?” Christopher whispered, a sorrowful smile on his face. “I’m a failure … as a father…”

With that, he turned his dagger to his own breast and…

Clap! Sir Phil seized his hand.

“Brother! But why?!” Christopher exclaimed.

Sir Phil replied softly, “Because… you’re my bother.”

51 words (the scene ends here in the recent translation of J-NOVEL)

 TOKYOPOP version:

“It… ends here,” Christopher grunted. A sad, resigned smile came over his face. “I’ve been a failure… of a father…”

And as if that bit of drama hadn’t been enough, Christopher then turned the dagger around on himself. He was about to thrust the blade into his own belly when Phil jumped in and stopped him.

“Brother!” Christopher wailed, tears spilling down his cheeks. “Why won’t you let me die?”

“Because,” Phil replied, prying the dagger out of Christopher’s hands. “Because you’re my brother.”

Phil flung the dagger and stared with pitying eyes as the broken, shuddering Christopher slowly sank to his knees. Phil paused a moment, then carefully knelt down and wrapped his arms around his brother.

It was a touching scene, I have to admit. Gourry cried. I was fine, though.

…Sniff.

134 words O.O

I did not forget about day 30 xD. I was enjoying some days in the mountains and now I need to catch up with life again.

30. Why do you believe this show has had such a lasting impact on people’s hearts?

First, because of Lina. Slayers wouldn’t be the same without her. She is the soul of the series. She is full of flaws but also has many good traits. It makes her feel so real and enjoyable to watch.

All the rest of the things add up. Other great characters beside Lina. A nicely built fantasy world. A very entertaining plot. The relationships and interactions between the characters.

29. What impact has the show had on your life?

28. What moments from the show do you use to motivate you?

27. How did your feelings about Xellos evolve through the series?

In the anime, Xellos, while being obviously a mazoku, is portrayed in a more friendly way, I think. He seems less menacing. At first, when he was introduced, I was like “mm, ok, new character”. It is not known at first that he is a mazoku, so I was just finding him funny, with his constant habit of messing around with the gang. Since the moment I learned that he was a mazoku, and with each episode, I started liking him less and less.

26. How did your feelings about Sylphiel evolve through the series?

Well, at the beginning, when she was introduced, it looked like she could be a competition for Lina and the creation of a love triangle. So I was very wary at the beginning, because I didn’t want that to happen. I was already shipping Lina and Gourry by the time Sylphiel was introduced, so I was really afraid that the series was about to introduce some drama around romance.

25. How did your feelings about Amelia evolve through the series?

This is another character that I think hast lost quite a lot in her anime adaptation from the novels.

From the first time she is introduced in the anime, she looks like a crazy justice freak. The series evolve and Amelia seems to mellow over time and become less crazy. I really like how she developed a friendship with Lina in Slayers Next, and I enjoyed watching their interactions very much. I did not what to think about her in Slayers Prime (I just found her quite funny to watch), but in Slayers Next I was liking her quite a lot.

In the novels you see more clearly why she acts the way she acts at the beginning. Specially, because she is introduced in the place where she lives, and you can see everything happening around her (all the family issues). In the anime she is introduced outside Sailune. I like her introduction a lot more in the novels. However, in the anime, she seems to have a closer relationship with Lina, sort of like a sister relationship, that I’m missing a bit in the novels.

Bilingual analysis of the Slayers Next opening. English is not my native language, so I hope my translation sounds good :D

After reading about being able to see Garv’s true from in the opening, I tried it, pausing the video every second, and... it’s true! You can see it! How many times have I watched this opening before and never realized?

And I had always wondered why Lina opened her palm only to reveal food, when it looked like she was preparing a spell. LOL.