#i'm absolutely obsessed with firo's refusal to join the gandors

[houjicha]

So I was rereading the 1927 manga for the millionth time and noticed a translation error:

Specifically, Claire's line "He's a popular guy."

I'm pretty sure this was just a misreading of 持てる (moteru)--just one letter off, which does mean that he's a popular guy.

Buuuut the actual Japanese is 持ってる(motteru), which makes this line hit very differently in context:

This means more like "Firo's a guy who has..." something! "It" as @toushindai put it when we talked about it recently (thank you!). When this verb doesn't have a clear object, it has certain connotations.

There's a term 持ってる人 (motteru hito), which literally translates to "a person who has"...it. According to one Japanese article, it's like someone who is able to pull through when it really matters, as opposed to people who crack under pressure, and is generally capable and dependable. "They've got it" is a pretty good translation, although if I can be super nitpicky, 持ってる人 is a general type of person, so "it" would be more like "the set of qualities needed to succeed" rather than "this particular situation." Jisho.com calls it "that special something."

The main focus of Firo's arc in 1927 is his insecurities and feeling unsure of who he's going to be. He's constantly comparing himself to Claire and the Gandors and the Martillo family executives, and wondering how he can stand out and find his place.

There's a similar sort of phrasing here in the Japanese, too:

It's not the same phrase, but the literal translation is "What do I have?" (Official EN is "Where does that leave me?") Like "What do I have going for me? What's my 'thing'?" He's not sure if he has "it," but he wants to.

After Firo chased the priest off the roof, Claire saw a bit of that insecurity--but he certainly sees Firo as capable, even if Firo himself doesn't.

So...Claire's line is actually a response to that arc. Claire returns to the Gandors and lets them know about how Firo helped Keith. The Gandors' first response is to be like "Is he okay?" which is totally understandable, but Firo would probably take it the wrong way. (That's a guess, of course, but this feels related to the reasons Firo didn't join the Gandors and the vibe between them in their earlier scene.) But Claire pushes back by saying "He's fine. He's got what it takes." This discussion isn't about whether the Martillos will take Firo back; it's about Firo himself, and it's like a little cap on his arc.

(ちゃんと (chanto) is the other word in this sentence, by the way, which means like "properly" but is more a way of saying that something is as it should be, or properly qualifies. He's calling Firo a bonafide 持ってる人)

Anyway as someone who really loves the little scraps of Firo and Claire's relationship that we get I needed you to know about this one thank you for your time