Mahouka: TLC Thread

[EnigmaticAxiom]

Not sure if this is a mistake, but there is a part in Volume 8 Chapter 8 where Miyuki thinks about the abilities of Tatsuya:

As long as I can remember, as well as from what I’ve been told, aside from the non-systematic anti-magic ‘Gram Dispersion’, I have never seen him use any high level magic.

Could it be that in reality Gram Demolition is meant, since Gram Dispersion is thought to be impossible in combat and i dont think that Miyuki knew at that point about Tatsuyas special eyes?
Found that part strange, but was just a thought.

It's Gram Dispersion. I haven't read any of Volume 8 translations yet, but I just checked the JP raws.

[The_Great_Galendo]

I had a couple of questions about the translation of Volume 7.

Volume 7, Chapter 10:
"JSDF 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion, Captain, Sanada Shigeru. As expected of the heir of the Juumonji Family, you do know about us. Please excuse my rudeness."
Katsuto's brow twitched.
Such a simple reaction was exemplary mental fortitude for an 18 year old young man.
"Excuse me. I think both sides have much to discuss."
"......I should be the one apologizing."
"A thousand apologies. Then, my lord heir of the Juumonji Family, let's go inside."
Sanada said as he headed for the conference hall.
Katsuto had no idea what the man needed from him, but since this soldier knew about the hidden family situation surrounding the Juumonji Family, he was not someone Katsuto could let his guard down around.

What in the previous lines is implying anything about a "hidden family situation" of the Juumonju Family? I thought the fact that Katsuto was the heir was pretty well known from before? Am I misremembering, or is something missing here?

Volume 7, Chapter 13:
October 30th, 2095 AD.
Today was Halloween, but since Tatsuya wasn't a Christian, the day bore no special meaning to him.

Halloween is October 31, not October 30. Is this an error in the original, or a mistranslation?

[Rava]

I had a couple of questions about the translation of Volume 7.

Volume 7, Chapter 10:
"JSDF 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion, Captain, Sanada Shigeru. As expected of the heir of the Juumonji Family, you do know about us. Please excuse my rudeness."
Katsuto's brow twitched.
Such a simple reaction was exemplary mental fortitude for an 18 year old young man.
"Excuse me. I think both sides have much to discuss."
"......I should be the one apologizing."
"A thousand apologies. Then, my lord heir of the Juumonji Family, let's go inside."
Sanada said as he headed for the conference hall.
Katsuto had no idea what the man needed from him, but since this soldier knew about the hidden family situation surrounding the Juumonji Family, he was not someone Katsuto could let his guard down around.

What in the previous lines is implying anything about a "hidden family situation" of the Juumonju Family? I thought the fact that Katsuto was the heir was pretty well known from before? Am I misremembering, or is something missing here?

[...]

From what I remember, only narrator explanations that were given as an FYI stated he was heir. The only time someone's heir status was directly given away that I can recall are when Juumonji was talking about Tatsuya marrying into the Saegusa family and stated that Masaki was the next head of Ichijou, but given Masaki's fame, it may have been an obvious conclusion.

[thelazyguy]

Volume 7, Chapter 13:
October 30th, 2095 AD.
Today was Halloween, but since Tatsuya wasn't a Christian, the day bore no special meaning to him.

Halloween is October 31, not October 30. Is this an error in the original, or a mistranslation?

Chinese translation has it as 30th. Japanese source... 31st.
So it's a translation error by the Japanese => Chinese translator.

I always wondered how in the world Yokoshama Disturbance and Scorched Halloween happened in same day, but never bothered to check to see if dates were translated correctly. XD

[The_Great_Galendo]

From what I remember, only narrator explanations that were given as an FYI stated he was heir. The only time someone's heir status was directly given away that I can recall are when Juumonji was talking about Tatsuya marrying into the Saegusa family and stated that Masaki was the next head of Ichijou, but given Masaki's fame, it may have been an obvious conclusion.

That's not correct. From Volume 3, chapter 4:
"Speaking of dependable, I guess that has to be Juumonji-senpai?"
"Nah, Juumonji-senpai is too dependable. Not only that, he's also the Ten Master Clans' future successor."
"Speaking of successors of the Ten Master Clans, there's the successor for the Ichijou Family from Third High, right?"

The above is from the scene where all the first-year girls are taking a bath, so at the very least it's open knowledge to Miyuki, Honoka, Shizuku, Eimi, and Subaru that he's the Juumonji clan's successor; given that no one at all seems surprised to hear it, they each must have heard as much previously. I imagine it's pretty open knowledge.

[SXIII]

I have a question about the title of volume 8 chapter: ''Untouchable-The Nightmare of 2062''. Since this is a reminiscence volume about 3 years ago (year 2092) are you sure that this chapter is about 2062 and not 2092? I'm pretty positive this chapter is about Tatsuya's involvment in the Okinava battle (in the year 2092).

[thelazyguy]

I have a question about the title of volume 8 chapter: ''Untouchable-The Nightmare of 2062''. Since this is a reminiscence volume about 3 years ago (year 2092) are you sure that this chapter is about 2062 and not 2092? I'm pretty positive this chapter is about Tatsuya's involvment in the Okinava battle (in the year 2092).

Definitely 2062,
http://lknovel.lightnovel.cn/illustrati ... _28082.jpg

[Rava]

From what I remember, only narrator explanations that were given as an FYI stated he was heir. The only time someone's heir status was directly given away that I can recall are when Juumonji was talking about Tatsuya marrying into the Saegusa family and stated that Masaki was the next head of Ichijou, but given Masaki's fame, it may have been an obvious conclusion.

That's not correct. From Volume 3, chapter 4:
"Speaking of dependable, I guess that has to be Juumonji-senpai?"
"Nah, Juumonji-senpai is too dependable. Not only that, he's also the Ten Master Clans' future successor."
"Speaking of successors of the Ten Master Clans, there's the successor for the Ichijou Family from Third High, right?"

The above is from the scene where all the first-year girls are taking a bath, so at the very least it's open knowledge to Miyuki, Honoka, Shizuku, Eimi, and Subaru that he's the Juumonji clan's successor; given that no one at all seems surprised to hear it, they each must have heard as much previously. I imagine it's pretty open knowledge.

Ah, I remember that now, although I have to wonder if guessing the successors is a popular gossip topic, since we know that the Yotsuba did not select one yet. I don't know if non-registered users can edit a post they made, but If someone's going to check the original text, you should also include that it's on Page 131.

[The_Great_Galendo]

Well, this is interesting. I was still trying to isolate the reason for the discrepancy between Volume 3, Chapter 4 (the bath scene, where it's pretty clear that Juumonji's status as clan heir is widely known) and Volume 7, Chapter 13 (the scene with Juumonji and Captain Sanada, where Juumonji is surprised that Sanada knows that he's clan heir), and now I think I've got it.

I don't have access to the Japanese novel raws, but I was able to find a cached copy of the web novels, and although the volume 7 scene matches pretty well with what's translated, as near as I and Google Translate can tell, the volume 3 scene appears to be nonexistent. The most likely possibility is that the bath scene was added by the author during the time between the web novels' publication and the paper novels' publication. In this case the discrepancy is a simple author error; he added the scene, and either he forgot that the Juumonji clan status was not to be widely known at the time, or he purposefully meant to make the Juumonji clan status widely known, but forgot to change the scene in volume 7 to account for it.

There are other possibilities as well, e.g., perhaps the bath scene is in fact in the web novels but is in a different location than it is in the translation. This could be because the author moved it or because the translator (either Japanese to Chinese or Chinese to English) accidentally put it in the wrong place. But checking this would require access to the paper version of the Japanese raws, which I don't have, so it'll be up to someone else to verify that the scene is in fact in the correct spot.

That being said, my money's on the first possibility: an added scene which created a continuity error. Unfortunate, but hardly unique.

[EnigmaticAxiom]

Well, this is interesting. I was still trying to isolate the reason for the discrepancy between Volume 3, Chapter 4 (the bath scene, where it's pretty clear that Juumonji's status as clan heir is widely known) and Volume 7, Chapter 13 (the scene with Juumonji and Captain Sanada, where Juumonji is surprised that Sanada knows that he's clan heir), and now I think I've got it.

I don't have access to the Japanese novel raws, but I was able to find a cached copy of the web novels, and although the volume 7 scene matches pretty well with what's translated, as near as I and Google Translate can tell, the volume 3 scene appears to be nonexistent. The most likely possibility is that the bath scene was added by the author during the time between the web novels' publication and the paper novels' publication. In this case the discrepancy is a simple author error; he added the scene, and either he forgot that the Juumonji clan status was not to be widely known at the time, or he purposefully meant to make the Juumonji clan status widely known, but forgot to change the scene in volume 7 to account for it.

There are other possibilities as well, e.g., perhaps the bath scene is in fact in the web novels but is in a different location than it is in the translation. This could be because the author moved it or because the translator (either Japanese to Chinese or Chinese to English) accidentally put it in the wrong place. But checking this would require access to the paper version of the Japanese raws, which I don't have, so it'll be up to someone else to verify that the scene is in fact in the correct spot.

That being said, my money's on the first possibility: an added scene which created a continuity error. Unfortunate, but hardly unique.

The bath scene was added, but I don't believe there is a discrepency. I believe Katsuto's surprise is not that someone knew he was an heir to the Juumonji clan, but because someone from the military could identify a random civilian. It's possible the translation made that difficult to discern, but I don't recall having that issue when I read it.

Also, a while ago, I fixed the "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" translation to it's proper quote. Not sure why, but it was changed back 2 days ago by a random person. I changed it back and it's remained as is, so that's all well and good, I suppose.

[The_Great_Galendo]

The bath scene was added, but I don't believe there is a discrepency. I believe Katsuto's surprise is not that someone knew he was an heir to the Juumonji clan, but because someone from the military could identify a random civilian. It's possible the translation made that difficult to discern, but I don't recall having that issue when I read it.

I like that explanation a lot, but it doesn't quite fit. First, because Sanada most likely sees Katsuto erect the Juumonji's signature phalanx barrier:

Just as he arrived Katsuto was subjected to a warm welcome from the guided missiles.
Katsuto's response was almost pure reflex.
He instantaneously erected several physical barriers that were impermeable to air particles and could handle temperatures exceeding 20000 degrees.
The shock waves from the missiles that mysteriously detonated in mid air didn't even scratch the outer walls covered by Katsuto's barrier.

Still, you could make the argument that maybe Sanada didn't notice the barrier, or that since the missiles detonated prematurely even a lesser barrier would have held. The real killer, though, is the line:

Katsuto had no idea what the man needed from him, but since this soldier knew about the hidden family situation surrounding the Juumonji Family, he was not someone Katsuto could let his guard down around.

Note that it's Sanada's awareness of the "hidden family situation" of the Juumonji family that startles Katsuto. Nothing in the previous lines indicates a "hidden family situation" other than possibly his status as heir. I'm fairly certain the translation of "hidden family situation" is reasonable, probably 90%+ certain. It also occurs to me that maybe someone should check the bath scene in the original to verify that the girls do indeed mention that Juumonji's the heir and not just mention him as an important member or something like that (maybe the kanji used has some sort of less precise meaning, for instance). But if the translation of both these scenes is accurate, I don't see a way of reconciling this other than by author error. The only other thing I can think of is that the kanji that Sanada uses (当主), according to JWPce, translates to "(present) head of a family", which could be interpreted to mean that he's not the heir (as is publicly assumed) but actually the head. That would definitely be a hidden family situation that would surprise Katsuto, but this interpretation hinges on the girls using different kanji during the bath scene. Could someone with access to the Japanese originals please check and see which kanji the girls use during that scene?

[EnigmaticAxiom]

一体自分に何の用があるのか、克人には全く分からなかつたが、自分たち十文字家の伏せた家内事情を知るこの軍人から、今は目を離せないと考えた。
Read as you will. I'm not sure there is anything regarding his family situation being a "secret," however, I did look at your other comments.

Volume 4, Chapter 5(?) - 十師族の跡取りだよ is used, which, from what I can read, is "heir of the Ten Master Clans" or whatever you call it, and it is true Sanada says (当主) present master. There are a few ways to interpret this.
1) Juumonji is the actual Juumonji family head (perhaps the previous one died or perhaps he became leader upon mastering Phalanx), and this is a family secret to maintain balance. Juumonji makes decisions for the Juumonji family, so I find this to be somewhat believable (the decision to cooperate with the Saegusa in an arc not yet in the LNs, and the decision to make a move against Blanche in the first arc). He could be surprised in this chapter because someone knew that. There was the clan meeting in volume 4, telling Katsuto to display the might of the 10 Clans. He did not receive the directive because 1) No one was present from the Juumonji family to receive it, 2) Someone was there, pretending to be head of the family to keep things a secret should he be the true leader of the family, or 3) they simply hadn't sent it at that point in time. I guess it's not too supporting for or against your theory.
2) He could be surprised Sanada knew who he was at a glance. Just because he cast a barrier magic does not necessarily mean he is the actual head/heir of the Juumonji clan. There are other magicians who can use barriers, and it is possible there is someone else from the Juumonji family. We don't know much about that. Essentially, this is what I imagined his reaction was when I responded before.
3) He could be surprised Sanada called him the "present master." Juumonji may be the heir, and Sanada may have called him the "present master" because he was essentially making the decisions for the Juumonji situation as a person on-site.
4) He could have been surprised when Sanada confirmed they were part of 101. 101 is technically a secret unit, and, while Katsuto had heard of it, it was not necessarily something confirmed.

I suppose your interpretation is quite an interesting one that will most likely be true.

[The_Great_Galendo]

一体自分に何の用があるのか、克人には全く分からなかつたが、自分たち十文字家の伏せた家内事情を知るこの軍人から、今は目を離せないと考えた。
Read as you will. I'm not sure there is anything regarding his family situation being a "secret," however, I did look at your other comments.

Volume 4, Chapter 5(?) - 十師族の跡取りだよ is used, which, from what I can read, is "heir of the Ten Master Clans" or whatever you call it, and it is true Sanada says (当主) present master. There are a few ways to interpret this.

Thanks for posting that! To answer your (implied) question, I'm translating 伏せた家内事情 as "hidden household circumstances", which is where I get that there's something secret about the Juumonji family situation. If I'm wrong, let me know, since my entire argument relies on it pretty heavily.

That being said, the fact that different kanji are used is pretty telling, and I think is enough to justify changing the translation in Volume 7, Chapter 10 to have Sanada use something other than "heir" to describe Juumonji. Let's look at those possibilities you mentioned:

1) Juumonji is the actual (or at least acting) family head.
2) He could be surprised Sanada knew who he was at a glance.
3) Sanada may have called him the "present master" because he was essentially making the decisions for the Juumonji as the person on-site.
4) He could have been surprised when Sanada confirmed they were part of 101.

Both 1) and 3) seem like reasonable interpretations, and I don't see any way to decide for certain, given what we already know, which of them is correct. I happen to think that 1) fits the scene better than 3), since in an emergency it would be pretty natural for the heir of the family to take charge, and therefore it would be a little weird for such an address to surprise Katsuto. I do admit the possibility, however. But 2) and 4) don't seem likely because, at least according to how I'm reading it, the reason Juumonji is wary of Sanada is because he knew about the hidden family circumstances of the Juumonji family, not because he recognized Katsuto at a glance or because he was part of an elite unit. (Furthermore, remember that Katsuto just participated -- rather spectacularly -- in Monolith Code, the most-watched event of the Nine Schools Competition for military-type people. It would be expected for Sanada to have seen him there, and not all that surprising for him to be recognized, especially given that he just used some pretty impressive barrier magic.)

So 1) and 3) are both reasonable, and both rely on Sanada using 当主 rather than 跡取り. I vote for changing the translation of V. 7, Ch. 10 to have Sanada say something other than "heir". I'm not entirely sure what to change it to, though. "Current head" would fit better with interpretation 1), while "acting head" would fit better with interpretation 3). I lean more toward the former than to the latter, but I'm pretty certain that either is preferable to "heir", which is where we're currently at.

[ThatDudeOverThere]

hey guys im just wondering if there would be other blue page tranlation for the rest of the series or is it like limited only to volume 1 and 2

[Hiyono]

I really like the idea that Juumonji is already the acting head, since the line itself is quite confusing, and that would be a nice twist. One thing that confuses matters, though, is that Sanada uses two different terms to refer to Katsuto. In the first line, he simply uses 当主, but when he next invites Katsuto to head inside with him, he instead uses 次期当主 (下任当主 in Chinese), which refers to the heir or successor instead.