#Dog ningen

[pranelartabominations]

I had a vision of the ending of Dog Ningen

[ddrqoyote]

i just found out about and read all of dog ningen (too white to say the real name but if you know you know)... why is it actually good??? like okay it starts out dumb but they start unpacking some real stuff.

[ltmctrung]

5 bucks in coat pocket from last year rkgk

[r3dnk]

Dog ningen

[thenixkat]

WHAT

[amechyofsorts]

Araki wild for this one.

[benzodiazepinica]

this shit got me

[yes-i-read-sappho]

So you want to read "No Longer Human"

One of the things that fascinates me most in this world is translation, and when it comes to reading literature not originally in English I always wonder how accurate what I'm really reading is, especially seeing how much a work can vary from translation to translation.

With this in mind, I set out with a friend to read all three official English translations of Osamu Dazai's Ningen Shinkkaku (best known in English as No Longer Human) in order to figure out which one was the best.

DISCLAIMER: I do not read Japanese so my ability to comment on the actual accuracy to the original text is limited, so most of what I am saying here is based in the readability in English etc. (That being said, if you know more about the original and the accuracy to the original of any of the translations below PLEASE let me know I would be so so interested.)

With no further ado, here are the translations in the order I read them:

1. No Longer Human, trans. Donald Keene (1958)

This translation is easily the most familiar to English speakers (for BSD fans, this is where you can find "page 21, 'Mine has been a life of much shame.'") The main pro of this translation is that is very easily accessible in the literal sense. On top of this, the writing style is relatively easy to understand, if a bit antiquated (see: published 1958).

Unfortunately, while much of the vagueness in this book is almost definitely a consequence of Dazai's own writing, this translation is far from perfect. When discussing it with my friend, we realized that a confusing scene (pages 153-154 in the paperback) actually appears to be a consequence of a mistranslation, as both of the other translations we read presented the same contrary interpretation.

Overall, Keene's translation is fine but can feel incomplete.

2. A Shameful Life (Ningen Shikkaku), trans. Mark Gibeau (2018)

New title alert!

Gibeau's translation felt more complete than Keene's (and I may have gone a little insane using my limited Japanese knowledge to see if a single detail was accurate which it did appear to be). The only real downside to this translation was the lack of italics used within the text, which made it a bit more difficult to follow at times when it came to the character's inner thoughts. That being said, I actually like this as a literary device, especially given that the framing of the novel is in the form of personal journals.

What really made this version stand out to me, however, wasn't necessarily the translation itself, but how the translator addresses it. This book provides a translator's afterward (rather than an introduction as in the other two) where Gibeau gets into the historical and cultural context necessary to really understand the novel, including the I-novel literary movement and Dazai's own life. This really helps readers (especially those less familiar with Japanese history and culture) to really understand some of the nuances of the novel, while the placement at the end - pointedly - first allows the text to stand on its own. Also, in addition to the afterward, Gibeau also provides a brief "Note on the Current Translation," where he explains the merits of multiple translations and a bit of his own process/experience translating, which I enjoyed reading.

3. No Longer Human, trans. Juliet Winters Carpenter (2023)

(I don't know why this cover image is massive but oh well.)

Most of what I remember about this translation is wanting to like it more than I did. I was excited to read a translation by a woman because of how female characters are treated in the novel, but I do not remember there being a distinct difference. (The only notable difference was in the specificity of the language used at one point in the first journal, but this wasn't related to gender and I'm not going to get into it here.)

This translation initially endeared itself to me by directly referencing Bungo Stray Dogs in the introduction for its role in increasing the popularity of the novel among English speaking fans (even though Winters Carpenter somewhat misrepresents the series), but the introduction as a whole does very little to contextualize the novel, especially not compared to Gibeau.

Broadly speaking, I found this translation forgettable.

In conclusion,

I would recommend Gibeau's translation over the other two. However, each translation has its advantages and disadvantages, and you will still get the story from all of them if that's what you care about most.

[itznarcotic]

it was the one i was thinking of 😭😭

i think there's a battle manga with this idea, though if it's the one im thinking of then i ABSOLUTELY cannot type that name out—

[yridenergyridenergy]

Full text that will appear on the PUN Gremlins hoodie in the next MadaraNingen x Milkboy collaboration

[sesugi]

Japanese author Osamu Dazai

[zatanna-against-hate]

It’s also actually pretty good too, that’s the extra hilarious part. The characters have a decent amount of depth to them and I unironically enjoy it.

There also is a cat character in it too lol

Have you ever read Dog Nigga which is a real manga and not something I made up

Yes! I have the pages of the first three issues glued to my wall. The use of metaphor is unusually subtle for the author, who is more known for writing the original screenplays for grindhouse-esque indie films like A Night at the Gay Bashing (2002) and Elvis (2022). I especially liked the scene with Cat Wop and his whole wacky family. I'm really looking forward to seeing whether issue 4 wraps up the alien abduction plot, of there's another twist like what happened with Shaq in issue 2.

[pluto-in-pastel]

💖Might start writing x reader fanfiction for some anime I watch if anyone wants to read it. Idk. Requests welcome.💖

Anime I'm willing to write for right now:

This will all be anime only because I haven't read the manga for a lot of things.

-Fairy Tail

-Jujutsu Kaisen

-Bungo Stray Dogs

-Somali and the First Spirit

-Ningen Fushin: Adventures Who Don't Believe In Humanity Will Save the World

-Demon Slayer

Things I Will Not Write:

-Character X Character

-Charater X OC

-Incest/Stepcest

-Pedophilia

-Smut (I just can't right it well lol)

What I Will Write:

-Fluff

-Romantic

-Angst

-Toxic

- Yandere

-Platonic

-Headcannons

-AUs

-Any gender reader (default gender neutral)

Will probably add more later if this gets any attention.💖

[horizonjv]

Rex (Dog Ningen)/Carnage

[miwa-soumen]

sei shōnagon being the heian period equivalent of an instagram influencer was not a take I was expecting to encounter today but I suppose it makes sense in a way?? sort of???

anyways I love studying japanese literature despite the trauma of having to memorize the first couple parts of makura no sōshi back in elementary school

[fvccedupchemist]

I've feared many things from childhood; like nature, human beings, animals. When I'm petting a dog, I'm often reminded that the warmth of this animal is temporary. It would die before me. It could turn hostile any moment if triggered. Still I kept making out with it, aware of the dangers.

When I'm eating meat, I feel guilty that someone had to be murdered for this. But again, I reason with myself. Veganism is bullshit. I must consume meat to keep my body alive. It demands it. Nature made it demand it. Mankind chose to be carnivores thousands of years ago, all in order to survive. Who am I to change it now? My only humanity is the guilt I'm feeling every moment. My only humanity is the fear I have of humans, of nature and the earth.

Ōba Yōzō, you were wrong. Dazai Osamu, you were wrong. You didn't fail to be human. You were one of the few who could recognise, who could identify and give into the humanity from the rest of our animal bodies.