#also I recognized your quote as the mewtwo one. the one about birth. that one

[kitkat-the-muffin]

Silly Game Time: Firstly, think of a quote you like. It could be because you find it profound, inspiring, or just plain funny. It could be a famous quote by a notable person, or something that a personal aquaintance said to you alone, or a line from a story of any kind.

Secondly, share it with us ... WITHOUT using any vowels!

(For Example: "s nw tht th crcmstnc f n's brth s rrlvnt. t s wht y d wth th gft f lf tht dtrmns wh y re." - Mwtw)

“hd wrd drm tht ws cn f vnna ssgs swmmng crss th cn t gt t Lchtnstn.” -Flx

[dizzydaisygettinglazy]

The more I think about it, the more I feel like the "circumstances of one birth" line from the ENG dub contradicts Mewtwo's existential journey throughout JP MSB, especially that bit about one's actions determining who you are. In the JP version, Mewtwo simply recognizes that his status as a living being is valid enough to have a reason to exist but the ENG dub seems to insinuate you need to earn that through your actions. What are your thoughts? And hope you're having a good day!

Hello, Anon! Thank you so much for your very insightful question and the well wishes. I hope you’re having a great day, too! Awesome points all around. I have a lot of thoughts on this lol, and I’m glad you brought it up! Get ready for a totally unwanted essay~ 🙃

First off, I just wanna remind any readers of the scene following the final battle from the Japanese and English versions of Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998):

Mewtwo: “It’s true…that you’re a Pokemon who exists just like I do.”

Mew nods.

Mewtwo: “...It might be best if no one knew of this incident. It might be best to forget this.”

[...]

Ash: “Where are you all going?”

Mewtwo: “We were born. We are alive. We will go on living. In this world… Somewhere...”

--Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998) [Japanese]

Mewtwo: “A human sacrificed himself to save the Pokemon… I pitted them against each other, but not until they set aside their differences did I see the true power they all share deep inside…”

Mew nods.

Mewtwo: “...I see now that the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.”

[...]

Ash: “Mewtwo, where are you going?”

Mewtwo: “Where my heart can learn what yours knows so well. What transpired here I will always remember... But perhaps for you, these events are best forgotten.”

--Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998) [English]

SO, first off I wanna talk about why the English quote is very different. I totally agree with a lot of what you said, Anon. I get what you mean by the English line being a contradiction to the Japanese version of MSB. As we can see from the quotes above, Mewtwo learns in the JP version of the film that he’s alive--and Mew, Pikachu, Ash, etc. are all alive--and that’s enough of a reason for deserving to be. So why was all this extra stuff added in other languages?

The “circumstances of one’s birth” line is indeed an invention of the English Mewtwo Strikes Back dub, and I’m willing to bet that it was created in an effort to tie up Mewtwo’s character arc in a more complete way. It’s well and good that Mewtwo learns at the end of the Japanese film that just by living he is valid, but his JP dialogue doesn’t exactly convey the worldview-shattering, philosophical epiphany needed in this final scene to show the summation of all that Mewtwo has learned and why he has suddenly changed his entire outlook on life, considering he goes from total hatred of humanity to peacing out like nothing’s happened in the span of 5 minutes. Obviously this is just me speculating, but I think 4Kids came up with this line in an effort to show the growth that Mewtwo’s gone through, that he has learned from his mistakes and has unequivocally reformed. It’s very...sudden, but that’s an issue both versions of the film have; I can’t really fault the dub for it.

I do take issue with the “circumstances of one’s birth” part of the line in English in that it lands too soon. If Mewtwo truly learned that the way he was “born” is irrelevant, then he wouldn’t have the same existential crisis about being an unnatural being in Mewtwo Returns (2000). I get it, no one knew that Mewtwo Returns would be a thing when MSB came out. It wasn’t a planned sequel as far as anyone outside of Japan knew. So I get why the dub tried to wrap up Mewtwo’s arc all neat and tidy without knowing they’d have time to address his outstanding issues later on. But had he stated this line at the end of MR, I think it would’ve made more sense for his character arc.

As for the meaning of the “it’s what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are” part of the quote...I personally don’t take it to mean that one only earns the right to live through doing. I understand it to mean that Mewtwo realizes who you are as a living being is not dictated by how you were born--or created, in his case. It doesn’t matter what class you were born into, what race, what nation, whether you are naturally or artificially born, etc.; the kind of person you are or will become is determined by the types of actions you take day-to-day. It’s all up to you. In this part of the quote, I think Mewtwo also realizes it’s not enough to just have any ol’ purpose to be truly living, because there is so much more to living than simply existing. So in his case, having the purpose of being the biggest, baddest dude around when that entails hurting others is not indicative of a good reason to be alive.

Which brings up my next point. Interestingly, while the “circumstances of one’s birth” part of the English quote makes Mewtwo’s journey in Mewtwo Returns rather redundant, the “it’s what you do with the gift of life” part makes sense for his next existential dilemma in wondering how to live. As far as Mewtwo knows up to when he travels to Mt Quena, what he’s done with the “gift of life” is kill his creators, blow up another building full of people (Team Rocket HQ), build a nightmare palace, brainwash a nurse and force her into his servitude, terrify some kids and clone an army. Or something. If Mewtwo has come to the conclusion that one’s actions determine who you are, then...he’s a monster. That has to be a horrifying realization for him. It’s no wonder he’s so flippin’ depressed on Mt. Quena. In this way, as beautiful as this part of his English quote is at the end of MSB, it actually serves as a really dark and tragic foundation for his outlook later in MR.

...And those are my thoughts on that quote, lol. I have contradictory feelings about it. It’s beautiful, in my opinion, and is much more satisfying than the Japanese ending of MSB to me, even if there are other parts of the JP film I like better than its other language versions. But you’re right; it’s contradictory depending on how you choose to interpret it, and taken as a whole it doesn’t make a lot of sense when Mewtwo ends up having to relearn some of these lessons in Mewtwo Returns. Personally, I tend to look over these issues, since Mewtwo can be a contradictory person anyway, and it’s rather realistic for one to take time before committing a life lesson to heart. :)