I figured it would be fun to do some textual analysis for Japanese learners. Particularly because the game has the original calling cards in-game (just like a lot of other items throughout the game).
​
才能が枯渇した虚飾の大罪人,
斑目一流斎殿。
権威を傘に門下生から着想を盗み、
盗作すらいとわぬ芸術家,。
我々はすべての罪をお前の口から告白させることにした。
その歪んだ欲望を頂戴する。
**心の怪盗団より**
​
*English (my loose translation, not necessarily the original English version of the game):*
(To) the great criminal, who merely shows off as his true talent has run out,
Mister Madarame Ichiryusai.
Stealing the ideas of those pupils under your authority,
you are an artist that does not even hold back from plagiarism / stoops as low as plagiarism.
We have decided to make you confess every one of your crimes from your own mouth.
We will take your distorted desires.
**From the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.**
​
*Romaji:*
Tensai ga kokatsu shita kyoshoku no daizainin
Madarame Ichiryusai-dono.
Ken’i wo kasa ni monkasei kara chakusou wo nuzumi,
tousaku sura itowanu geijutsuka.
Wareware ha subete no tsumi wo omae no kuchi kara kokuhaku saseru koto ni shita.
sono yuganda yokubou wo choudai suru.
**kokoro no kaitoudan yori**
​
​
***Notes:***
斑目一流斎殿: Madarame Ichiryusai-dono. Welcome back to the wonderful rabbit hole of Japanese names. 斑 (Madara) means spotty, pimply, somehow not quite right. Mr. Spotty Eyes? It’s not a flattering name, whereas the second part 一流斎 sounds more like how he presents himself, a traditional stoic master. Two contradictions in one name.
More importantly is the final title “dono” which I translated with “Mister” (different from Mr.). “Dono” here is different from what the associated kanji, meaning “lord” implies. “dono” at the end of a name is very pejorative, like the person addressing with it is looking down on the person being addressed. Like a teacher looks down on a naughty student, or a superior looks down on an employee.
すら (sura) : a nice high level alternative of さえ, even
いとわぬ (itowanu) is almost literary. It is an elegant negative form of itou (Kanji 厭う) vs. the usual simple negative, itowanai. itou means: to shirk from, to shun, to shy away from, to not dare. Negative form here would mean, does not even shy away from, has no qualms doing x…
頂戴する (choudai suru): a nice formal way of saying to take, to gladly accept taking something.
歪んだ (yuganda) is the past form of 歪む (yugamu). 歪 is a “Hyougai” Kanji outside of the two official lists. Meaning to “be distorted”, (even the kanji itself is made of two parts, “not” at the top and “correct” at the bottom). It’s an important term throughout the game.
ことにした (Koto ni shita): part of the “koto ni suru” grammatical construction, i.e. to be decided, to decide on
怪盗団 (kaitoudan): The Phantom Thieves, or literally, “ghostly thief band”. all 1 word with 3 characters.
より (yori): It’s a special “yori” here, not the comparative one, used to say less than/more than. Rather here it is similar to “kara” meaning from.
​
Another nice word to add not in the text is the Japanese word here for “calling card” which is 予告状 (Yokokujou). Oddly enough, in the soundtrack, the lyrics of the battle song “Take Over” make reference to a “prior notice card” which is a direct translation of the word.
3 comments
Very interesting!!
> Mr. Spotty Eyes? It’s not a flattering name, whereas the second part
Except 班目 is a real Japanese family name and you’ve probably seen it in other entertainment before as well. Since people don’t decide their own family name I don’t think it has anything to do with how he present himself, and I don’t think there is any negative connotation associated here.
You can read about the history of this name here: https://name-power.net/a/fn/斑目.html
> Dono” here is different from what the associated kanji, meaning “lord” implies. “dono” at the end of a name is very pejorative, like the person addressing with it is looking down on the person being addressed. Like a teacher looks down on a naughty student, or a superior looks down on an employee.
Yes and no. While 殿 *can* be used sarcastically in daily conversation, when in written form, its meaning is still that of the original high respect honorific. You can read more about the history and usage of this honorific here:
https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/name-enders/
> 怪盗団 (kaitoudan): The Phantom Thieves, or literally, “ghostly thief band”. all 1 word with 3 characters.
The better literal translation here is “strange/mysterious thief band”, since 怪 doesn’t mean ghost. You may ask what about 妖怪 but that’s a combo Chinese word and the meaning is mostly based on the first kanji 妖.
But in words like 怪物、怪獣、奇怪，the kanji all mean “mysterious/strange”.
> より (yori): It’s a special “yori” here, not the comparative one, used to say less than/more than. Rather here it is similar to “kara” meaning from.
Yep. For some weebs like me I actually learned this usage of より first before the comparison one. There is a famous anime called 新世界より, and its literal translation was “From the New World”.
I am thou, thou art I.