#ritsu mishuyo | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

starkittnd93 · 9 months ago

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#im not locking reblogs on this one. please spread my ritsu agenda

Will do op 🫡

Ok but… bruh—

I remember having a problem with Ritsu’s dialogue when I first played, but now I’m p sure it was just localization issues…

EN Ritsu came off as obsessively jealous of Hikari specifically, rather than placing so much focus on status like in the KR version. (Which sucks bc I really prefer how much clearer his motivations are in the KR version-)

Like yes, he’s the antagonist either way, but KR Ritsu feels more… human? While EN Ritsu feels more evil for the sake of being evil with some of these lines (that “don’t let their screams distract you” line tho?!?! DAMN RITSU-)

the ritsu mishuyo post

AKA how the english localization fucked ritsu over and made him much more unlikable than he was supposed to be

this is a really (i mean really) long post detailing out what i view as the most significant differences between the english localization and the original japanese (technically i used the korean one as a main reference, but i cross-checked the japanese and i will mention if there are discrepancies between the two) for ritsu's dialogue. spoilers for hikari's entire story

firstly, i want to lay out the different ways hikari's NPCs call him because i feel like it's a good way to see what their relationships are like.

benkei uses hikari-sama or denka, with -sama being a honorific indicating a higher rank, usually royalty. denka is just "your highness"

kazan uses hikari-dono, with -dono being a polite honorific that does not necessarily indicate a higher rank. the literal meaning is "lord" or "master", which does apply to kazan's role here

finally, ritsu calls him ouji-dono or simply hikari, with ouji-dono being a combination of prince and -dono (from above) but it is notably different from the usual ouji-sama used for princes and based on the contexts ritsu uses the nickname in, it seems to be a tongue-in-cheek way for ritsu to point out hikari’s lineage. ritsu is also one of the few characters in his story who call him by his name without an honorific (the only other exceptions are his family, all older than him) which indicates closeness.

also my korean translations are closer to literal translations than localizations because... well. that's exactly the difference i'm trying to show. so some sentences sound a bit awkward in english to retain the original meaning but i'm not saying literal translation is better!!! it's just essential to demonstrate my point right now!!!!

chapter 1 (red is hikari, orange is ritsu)

i actually need to begin by talking about hikari's lines here because i feel like the english actually made him sound more blunt than the original (i didn't know this was possible) i think english hikari sounds quite... dismissive of ritsu's words here and "YOU'LL have a place by MY side" feels vastly more self-centered than the original "I'LL always be beside YOU"

i don't like the way ritsu puts himself down so heavily in english ("all i could hope for to be allowed in your presence") vs. him simply pointing out that he's always viewed hikari as someone who's far above him in both status and ability...

there are also a couple of phrases that persist throughout ritsu's screentime; one obviously being the reference to the clouds/sky which is still present in the english but was understandably downplayed, and another being ritsu "following vs. chasing" hikari. i'll get back to the last point later in chapter 5

the above exchange is earlier in chapter 1, but it feels appropriate to bring it up here because it's another example of ritsu's constant comparison of the dirt/ground where he resides compared to the skies/heavens where he places hikari. i quite like the english translation for his line here because references to 天 (heaven) and 地 (earth) tend to sound awkward in english because the concepts aren't as present in the language but the english remedied that by making it heaven and hell. very cool

when the two of them meet again 3 years later, ritsu ONCE AGAIN makes a reference to heaven and earth which was, again, understandably downplayed in english but i feel like it's a nice thread that really exemplifies the way ritsu thinks.

yeah i'm sure it's getting redundant already but i can't stress enough how many times ritsu brings up the heaven and earth thing. also i am not really a fan of how aggressive some of ritsu's accusations tend to be in english ("you never did take me seriously") because it makes him seem even more ungrateful for the times he was actually friends with hikari...

another part of ritsu's core interactions that i think was written off in english is his hyperfixation on lineage and birth. the fact that he's a commoner is still brought up several times, but there are a few moments where you can see that one of ritsu's driving forces behind opposing hikari is proving his worth as a commoner, that hikari wasn't simply born better than him. no matter how high he rises in mugen's army, we see that this train of thought never leaves him.

chapter 3

since this is a translation blog, i feel the need to point out this first line that ritsu says... it's a little different in each of the languages i looked at:

JP: ...their deaths won't change this inequality.

KR: ...their deaths won't change the state of our lives.

EN: ...that won't bring my father back. won't stop this from happening again.

i think they're all interesting versions of the same line but honestly i particularly like the korean one here because it feels very ritsu-like to say that hikari's attempts to help them will not in fact do anything for them... the JP and EN imply the same thing but the phrasing is more general? like he's talking about the general inequality that commoners have to face while KR is much more personal.

i really like this scene because it adds another layer to why ritsu is so obsessed with aiming for the heavens... there isn't much that's different enough to point out but i just wanted to show it

this is also chronologically the first time ritsu uses the "ouji-dono" nickname for hikari! you can see that he's being just polite enough to not get his ass smacked but he's definitely saying it in a way that implies that he doesn't believe in the hierarchy where hikari is above him.

back to the present! i'm really not sure why english decided to translate his line this way because "grr" (angry, sounds like a brat) and "heh" (confident, looking for a fight) give off very different impressions imo... english ritsu seems a little too eager to blame everything on hikari and the idea that hikari is trying to hinder HIM specifically while JP/KR ritsu feels much more pleasantly surprised that he's given another chance to cut hikari down, to make up for his past mistake.

this conversation between ritsu and rou is probably the one i'm most angry about LMAO i really think it's much more effective for ritsu's response at the end to have been disbelief and frustration at the mere notion that hikari might have yet another edge on him thanks to his bloodline, while the english version just had him dismiss rou's words for no reason. when rou is first introduced at the beginning of this chapter, he also points out ritsu's commoner origins and i think ritsu's desperation to prevent this from being a failed mission on his part is at least slightly driven by his frustration towards rou's words... both at the beginning of the chapter and him revealing clan ku's curse here.

chapter 5

another point to note here is that when ritsu lists out all the things he's bought for mikka, the original japanese text literally says "these are all things that were beyond the clouds"... this obviously comes full circle by the end of hikari's story

i was also never a fan of how mikka's last line here makes it sound like she's deferring to ritsu when in actuality her worries haven't been lifted at all...

another example of english ritsu being needlessly self-deprecative when it comes to hikari's opinion of him like "reckon you never thought i'd be general" is so much more aggressive than the original line and i also like hikari's response to it... he acknowledges ritsu's achievement but also the fact that the higher ritsu rose, the more likely he was to be cut down by hikari...

i also think that ritsu's remark at hikari's ambition is very different between the two versions? just like the conversation with rou, in english he seems to dismiss it for no good reason but in the original you can see that ritsu doesn't see the point in trying to rock the boat and only seeks to better life for himself and mikka (his "one precious thing" line also makes it very clear his intention here is protecting mikka...)

this is another exchange that i think was very nerfed in english in regards to hikari's last line... english hikari just says "suffer any loss" but the original clearly says that he would endure the same kind of misery that ritsu did growing up if it means achieving his dreams. i also think hikari saying that he would suffer any loss makes it sound like he's very ready to kill ritsu here which... as you can see in the later dialogue during this battle, is just not true

i feel like my main gripe with the way english ritsu words his lines is how it seems to put the entire blame on hikari ("you're still better than me") while the original has a tone of putting himself down ("i can't reach higher than you") in the same vein i think it makes hikari's response sound a lot less confrontational...

ritsu's last line here... i really wish was translated differently... english ritsu seems very fixated on this path because it's something that he chose but in the original you can see that to ritsu, other paths simply don't exist anymore. joining hikari isn't even an option and it isn't because of his stubbornness, he simply doesn't see another way out of the situation...

i also prefer hikari's original like "so long as mugen stands, this fighting will never end!" because the english version is simply an invitation to defeat mugen together but the original is hikari saying that even if ritsu were to kill hikari here, the fighting would never end (and mikka would never know peace...) "don't spill any more needless blood" follows up on this, because hikari isn't just talking about the battle between him and ritsu right now, he's talking about the path that awaits ritsu if everything goes as he (and mugen) planned. instead of being singularly focused on victory, hikari worries for ritsu even in the event that he ends up being defeated...

the "following vs. chasing" that was initially brought up in chapter 1 comes up again here...

i think there is a huge difference between the wording on ritsu's part, because "follow" implies that he would always be behind hikari while "chase" implies that he will outrun hikari someday... similarly "keep up" and "catch up" also give off a very different impression. ritsu always viewed hikari as a rival and while a part of him thought/knew that he would never be better than hikari, i don't think it makes sense for him to refer to himself as "following" hikari.

and lastly, the final conversation between hikari and mikka... all the sky and clouds talk really pays off here in the original (the absence of clouds = the thing that ritsu was always reaching for is now gone because hikari has torn down the hierarchy)

phew ok i know this is really uselessly long but i wanted to make a big post for ritsu one day because he's my favourite NPC and it's sad how misunderstood he is in the english community because of a few tweaks in the localization... once again i don't think it's a bad localization but given how many people i've seen who were confused by ritsu's character while the japanese fandom seems much more endeared to him, i think that's... saying something....

if this is something that interests you, i highly recommend checking out the japanese voice acting as well! dubbed voice acting is a whole other beast in addition to localization and there are definitely times when i don't agree with the delivery of certain lines, especially if it wasn't even necessarily laid out by the localized text.

anyway i hope i was able to at least change someone's impression of ritsu even the slightest bit through this!! ritsu mishuyo you will always be famous

#ritsu mishuyo #hikari ku #octopath traveler 2 #anyway this was very interesting to read #Ngl I had a problem with octopath’s villain writing in general #but now I’m wondering if it was just localization issues considering how they pushed for a “more evil” ritsu portrayal…#but the translation from “heaven and earth” to “heaven and hell” is so cool tho-

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