Baccano:Volume1 Translator's Notes
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Baccano!
Contents |
[edit] One day ago ~In Alveare~
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[edit] A few days later, or a few hours ago ~Train Station~
[edit] Capital of Hope
New York City, NY, United States
[edit] last year
Refers to October 24, 1929 (also known as Black Thursday). The New York Stock Exchange had experienced a major crash on this day, eventually leading to the bankruptcy of 4500+ financial institutions worldwide and raised America's unemployment figure to over 1,300,000 in 4 years. This event is often regarded by historians as a symptom of the Great Depression, which in spite of long-lasting consequences had marked the starting point of important financial reforms and trade regulations in America.
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[edit] A few minutes ago ~On road~
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[edit] Immediately Before ~Gandor family~
[edit] Julius Caesar
A military and political leader from Ancient Rome, who remains one of the most influential men in world history today.
[edit] Three-Card
Three of a kind, also called trips, set or a prile (the latter from its use in three card poker[4]), is a poker hand such as 2♦ 2♠ 2♣ K♠ 6♥, which contains three cards of the same rank, plus two unmatched cards.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_of_a_kind#Three_of_a_kind
[edit] Five-Card
Five identical cards in a set. Keith wins the game automatically because it's a five-card game. (The maximum number had already been reached)
[edit] Keith-bro
Berga and Luck's petname for Keith, equivalent to Brother Keith in English. The original text is 「キー兄」, pronounced as kee-nee: kee is taken from the "Kei" sound of Keith's name while nee is an abbreviated form of "Nii-san" aka. 「兄さん」, which means "older brother" in Japanese.
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[edit] Epilogue 1
[edit] gyūdon
Gyūdon (牛丼): beef and onion on rice. (source: Wikipedia)
[edit] Shining Wizard
The killer technique of Mutoh Keiji, Japan’s professional wrestler. If you watched School Rumble, this is Sawachika Eri's signature move ;)
[edit] Crying yourself to sleep
A Japanese expression (泣寝入り), which means being compelled to accept a situation
[edit] booker
‘‘conta è oro’‘: lit- counter of money, kanji- bookkeeper (someone who manages the books of account)
[edit] Omertá
Code of Silence
[edit] Wine of immortality
Wine of immortality (不死の酒): same as the “Elixir of Life” in anime subs. In this chapter, the character uses the word 酒 (alcohol), and in the next chapter it is referred as 薬 (medicine, elixir).
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[edit] Prologue
[edit] hermetic tradition
Alchemy, magic, astrology and related subjects that are based off Hermes Trismegistus’ work, Hermetica
[edit] Ah, never mind
Japanese: まあいい; this phrase has several meanings depending on the context- “but all right”, “whatever”, “never mind”, “it doesn’t matter”. I will keep to “Ah, never mind” for the sake of consistency, like in the novels.
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[edit] The First Day
[edit] Crystal-clear
The original Japanese text explained what “crystal-clear” in English meant, so I went for the closest equivilent.
[edit] Prohibition
A time in America when all alcohol was prohibited. The idea of the prohibition stemmed from Protestant beliefs, and this was aimed to reduce crime.
[edit] Jazz Age
The ‘Jazz Age’ is also known as the ‘Roaring Twenties’- both terms refer to the prosperous years of the 1920s. However, the 1920s ended with the Great Depression in 1929.
[edit] Al Capone
Also known as ‘Scarface’, he was an Italian American gangster who led a crime syndicate dedicated to the smuggling and bootlegging of liquor and other illegal activities during the Prohibition Era.
[edit] Lucky Luciano
A Sicilian-American mobster considered the father of modern organized crime.
[edit] Hup hup
Japanese: yotto (よっと). Spoken by Firo. The masculine equivilent for 'upsy-daisy'.
[edit] Inspector
The author uses the structure of the Japanese police forces in the story. The ranking in ascending order is as follows: Constable → Sergeant → Inspector → Chief inspector → Commander → Deputy assistant commissioner → Assistant Commissioner → Deputy Commissioner → Commissioner
[edit] picciotto
Japanese: 若衆 (lit: young man). For the Camorra, the lowest rank would be a picciotto (“little man”), also known as an associate. I’m not sure which term Narita is referring to, but it’s probably picciotto.
[edit] Wimpy Calculator
Japanese: 白旗算器. Someone clarify, please?
[edit] Speakeasy
Black market for wine, a term used especially during the Prohibition.
[edit] Central Bus Station
Grand Central Station, also known as the New York Central Station.
[edit] East Village
A neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.
[edit] Momotaro
Japanese: 桃太郎 - A Japanese mythical character. A boy who was born from a peach (momo) and defeated demons with a pheasant, a dog and a monkey.
[edit] Katame
Japanese: カタメ (katame). Miria actually meant katana. This is a deliberate mistake made by the author.
[edit] (?)
Yes, there's a question mark there.
[edit] Dempsey
Jack Dempsey, a heavyweight, American boxer (thanks to javits (LJ) for the tip!)
[edit] Alcatraz Island prison
Also known as ‘The Rock’, this prison is located in the centre of San Francisco Bay. Once a world famous prison, it was retired in 1963. (Source: Wikipedia)
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[edit] At Night
[edit] Alveare
Alveare (アルヴアレ): Italian for ‘beehive’
[edit] capo societa
Translated literally from Italian: head of society. Kanji: leader.
[edit] primo voto
Translated literally from Italian: first vote. Kanji: old person
[edit] chiamatore
Translated literally from Italian: namer. Kanji: secretary
[edit] Camorrista
a member sworn into the Camorra, an executive. Kanji: core executive
[edit] Burton-ryu jujutsu
jujutsu: a Japanese martial art consisting primarily of grappling techniques (Source: Wikipedia).
Burton-ryu: there is no school of jujutsu named after Burton. Roberc Burton is actually a British philosopher and writer, who has nothing to do with martial arts. It’s just Isaac talking nonsense. What he said about baritsu is correct though.
[edit] Tomoe Gozen
Tomoe Gozen (巴 御前): one of the few examples of a true female warrior samurai in all of Japanese history. She was a samurai during the time of the Genpei War (1180–1185). (Source: Wikipedia)
[edit] qipao
Chinese girl, qipao: the author originally used the words China-girl, China-dress
[edit] picciotto d' honore
見習い: Means ‘apprentice’. I translated this as ‘picciotto d' honore’, since this refers to people who apprentice to a Camorrista for a year, presumably to test if they’re worthy to join. They’re not full members yet.
[edit] picciotto di sgarro
若衆: as mentioned earlier, this means ‘young one’. A ‘picciotto di sgarro’ is one step higher than the picciotto d’honore, promoted/initiated after giving proof of courage and zeal. They are the lowest grade of members.
[edit] outlaws
Author’s choice of word
[edit] ☆
For those who can't view it on your browsers, this is a star symbol.
[edit] Moriarty and Reichenback Falls
Another reference to Sherlock Holmes. Moriarity was Holmes’ rival, who was supposed to have perished when Holmes jumped off with him at the Reichanback Falls.
[edit] Jack The Ripper
A serial killer who terrorized Whitechapel, London, killing at least five prostitutes.
[edit] Uncle Tom
The main character of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’, an anti-slavery novel.
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[edit] The Second Day
[edit] real face
The literal translation was too bizarre, so I tweaked it. Lit: “like a woman's face after make-up was removed”
[edit] hero
Isaac, the word is heroine, not hero ^^;;
[edit] the Bronx
In the Prohibition days, bootleggers and gangs ran rampant in the Bronx. Irish, Italian and Polish immigrants smuggled in most of the illegal whiskey. By 1926, the Bronx was noted for its high crime rate and its many speakeasies. (Wikipedia)
[edit] Civil War
The American Civil War (1861–1865): a civil war between the United States of America (the “Union”) and the Southern slave states of the newly formed Confederate States of America under Jefferson Davis (Source: Wikipedia)
[edit] Paracelsus
Born Phillip von Hohenheim, he was a Swiss physician, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist. (Source: Wikipedia)
[edit] big event
Author’s choice of words
[edit] Firo
It actually says Luck rather than Firo. But I think Firo makes more sense, seeing as Luck is Berga's actual brother.
[edit] girl
娘: can mean an unmarried girl or daughter. I can’t see Szilard calling Ennis ‘daughter’
[edit] Swords and Firearms Control Law
銃刀法: Japanese law set down by the US occupation in 1958. Not a US law- the first Firearms Act was passed in 1934, which is after the storyline!
[edit] Krap!
Miria speaks in katakana, so she’s parroting Isaac and not really knowing what she’s saying
[edit] Verde
ヴェルド: verudo? Verd? Veludo?
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[edit] Epilogue 2
[edit] picture book
Old-fashioned name for manga
[edit] The Untouchables
The Untouchables (1987): a movie based on Eliot Ness's autobiographical account of his efforts to bring Al Capone to justice (Source: Wikipedia)
[edit] grilling
ヤキ (yaki): slang used by yakuza, derived from the word ‘焼き入れ’ (to harden, temper). Need confirmation? Can’t find slang in dictionaries...
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