Ikki and Esmeralda’s scenes are not about Guilty
In the japanese script, every single dialogue they have is about them being close and talking only about themselves and their feelings, just like in the manga, instead of going the Guilty-is-her-father route, which in the english script they do. Here’s the translation of their scenes.
Esmeralda:一輝 Ikki
Ikki: エスメラルダ。。。？どうしてここに。。。？ Esmeralda? why are you here...?
Esmeralda: ごめんなさい あなたが心配で 大来ちゃったの。。。 I'm sorry. I came because I'm worried about you...
Ikki: ここには危険だ 君のような優しい子がくるともうじゃない 。。。 It’s dangerous. A gentle girl like you shouldn’t be here...
Esmeralda: いいの私は大丈夫 休んで一輝 It’s ok, I’m fine. Rest, Ikki.
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Esmeralda:一輝 毎日こんなに傷だらけになって。。。 Ikki, every day you're so full of wounds... こんな特訓はもうやめてお願いだから Please, I beg you to stop this intensive training. 私は心配でしかたないのよ。。。こんな地獄のような島で I can’t help worrying about you... in this hellish island このまま無理を続けたらあなた死んでしまうわ If you keep pushing yourself, you will die なぜそこまでするのか私に判からないわ I don’t understand why you keep doing it. 一輝 どうして聖闘士になることにそうなにこだわるの？ Ikki, why are you so obsessed with becoming a saint?
Ikki: 生き別れた妹のためだ あいついもどこかで聖闘士になる苦しい修行をしているはず。。。 It’s for my little sister from whom I’ve been separated. I'm sure she's somewhere doing some painful training to become a saint too...
Esmeralda:一輝 Ikki
Ikki: だから何としても先生に認められなければ！ オレは絶対に聖闘士にならなきゃいけないんだ！ So, no matter what, I have to be recognized by my sensei !I absolutely have to become a Saint!
Esmeralda: でも私は あなたを失いたくない！ But I don't want to lose you!
Ikki: ここには来ないほがいい It would be best if you wouldn’t come here.
Esmeralda: え？ What?
Ikki: おれに関わる君は危ない目にあう Your relationship with me draws dangerous eyes おれも君が心配だ I worry about you too.
Esmeralda: ありがとう Thank you
Ikki:その花は？ And that flower?
Esmeralda: 見つけたのかわいいでしょ？ I found it, isn’t it cute?
Ikki: 君の髪と同じ色だな It’s the same color of your hair.
Esmeralda: 一輝フェニックスの聖闘士になっても今のままでいてね Ikki, when you become the Phoenix Saint, stay just the way you are, ok?
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Ikki: エスメラルダ！ Esmeralda!
Esmeralda: 優しい一輝のままでいてね。。。 Keep being your gentle self Ikki, ok?
Ikki: 何を言うんだ！ What are you saying!
Esmeralda: 一輝 Ikki
Ikki: 死ぬな！エスメラルダ！ Don’t die! Esmeralda! Esmeralda: フェニックスとなって。。。 羽ばたいても。。。 Become the Phoenix... and flap your wings...
Ikki:そんな そんな not this, no
Esmeralda: あなたなら。。。 できる I’m sure you can... do it
Ikki: フェニックス！フェニックス！ Esmeralda! Esmeralda!
Guilty: バカメこんなところにでしゃばってくるからだ Idiot. It happened because she came here.
Ikki: なぜだ どうして彼女までま巻込んだ！ Why!? Why did you even involve her!
Guilty: 何を言ってる？ What are you saying これはすべてお前の甘さが招いたことではないか！ This is all about your weakness (sweetness)! 一輝はっきり言ってやろう Let’s be clear その娘を殺したのは貴様だ！ The one who killed this girl was you! そもそもわしはこのときのためだけにその娘を貴様に近づけたのだ！ To begin with, I brought her close to you just for this moment.
------ So why do I believe this is a more effective change? First, it resembles more the manga dialogues, where Esmeralda was a slave in the island (here this is only implied in japanese with what Guilty reveals). Second, like I’ve told before, it’s all about Ikki and Esmeralda’s relationship. We don’t lose time with exposition from her telling us about Guilty’s mask and the random guy that gave it to him. I mean, TO BE HONEST, I don’t care about Guilty, nor I care about trying to explain his evil doings giving him a sympathetic background. Every time Esmelada talks in the english script (and all other translations) is trying to excuse why “her father changed”, or even when dying she’s still asking Ikki not to be like him. It seems the most important thing in her mind is always “her father”. We lose precious time of her expressing her feelings for Ikki, her own worries and how much she believes in him, in order to give a backstory to the masked guy, that doesn’t need it.
He’s not possessed, he’s not a victim of whatever bigger evil plot that made him done the mask. He’s evil. Period. I even think Guilty only needed that last part in the japanese script, where he admitted he USED Esmeralda from the beginning as a means to an end, just to fuck up Ikki’s mind. You don’t need to make him kill his daughter to understand he’s a monster, he consciously manipulated both Ikki and Esmeralda’s feelings and sacrificed an innocent girl like the psychopath he is. It works perfectly for him, a guy that wants toxic emotions to fuel one’s power; he obviously understands how all ranges of emotions work. As it is in english, it only creates a loose end trying to guess who gave him the mask, thing they’re never gonna dispel, I bet you anything on that. And lastly, Ikki. You do see, without any doubt, that he is a gentle soul. That he doesn’t hide his feelings and tells her straightforward he’s worried about her as she worries about him. He also shares honestly with her his reasons to endure it all: Shun. Shun is also going through a hellish training so they both must finish it to be together again. This was nowhere mentioned in the English script, and it makes no sense. THAT RIGHT THERE IS THE CORE OF IKKI’S CHARACTER, GODDAMNIT. It makes such disservice to these two sweet characters and their tragedy. Sooo if you’re still asking why I prefer listening this in japanese and why I like to share the translations, it’s because, as with the Dohko & Mu scene, the experience is another thing completely and honestly, much more enjoyable without that many filters inherent from the american adaptation.
