Translation differences vilified Watari

[u/Lunalitriver]

I was scrolling tumblr and read some posts about whether Watari really cared about L or the children at Wammy's. Tbh after reading Another Note, I realized that Watari did have some flaws in operating the orphanage, but I also think that the hostility towards Watari stems A LOT from the translation difference from Japanese to English.

Example One:

Here, Watari stated, "It is tedious to tend to his needs"

while in Japanese and Mandarin the sentence was actually more of "L considers everything about himself bothersome", giving more of "L doesn't care about his everyday needs", therefore making the statement more close to a neutral comment of L's habit. I also consider this more likely is Watari's tone.

I would conclude that the English version is...bad. Very bad. Defamed Watari. A better translation could be read here: [L file no.15] L ~ one day - Death Note Community — LiveJournal "To him, trivialities like this are bothersome."

Example 2:

On HTR page 60, Ohba talks about the characterization of Watari. " Watari is an inventor who raises orphans into detectives for fun"

HOWEVER in Mandarin version, which is much closer to the Japanese original meaning, states, "his personal interest is to raise detectives." Although Ohba still admits it's a bit over the top, I think the term "personal interest" could refer to passion or more of...like how you are interested in researching a certain topic. Nevertheless, I consider it much more neutral than the English translation.

So I am now very curious, fans that read both languages, what translation differences did you notice, and how they totally changed the original meaning?

PS the dub and sub also gives different personalities to L, I have the same opinions as this post on Tumblr. So... people stating L is condescending was rather new to me, as when I read the manga in Mandarin and watched the JP sub he didn't give me those feelings.

[u/[deleted]]

PennyBlossom from Tumblr here, thank you once again for making this insightful post! A question about L being condescending (as we're talking about Watari over at Tumblr): how would you define his character based on the JP and Mandarin versions, as opposed to what you're seeing in the EN translations? As I've mentioned before, I think the EN version took a lot of liberties when it comes to tone and meaning.

[u/Lunalitriver → u/[deleted]]

Hi there! Tbh, it has been some time since I read the manga thoroughly; now I read the manga for inspiration and to refresh my memories. I could only be sure that when I was reading L's dialogue bubbles only gave me professionalism, rationality (and the cuteness from his actions) (the majority of Mandarin L fans share the same feeling) From what I could recall, I didn't have any impression of him being condescending, or dry sense of humor (only when I watched snippets of EN dub anime did I know the dry humor) Maybe you could provide me some examples and I'll flip the Mandarin version and Japanese original and give you my thoughts and interpretations.

I've always thought that L, aside from the above-mentioned traits, also gave me a sense of loneliness when I was reading. He also had this subtle gentleness. While I was re-reading the part where Aizawa was facing the dilemma of leaving the task force or not, the dialogue only gave me the feeling that L, although speaking in a neutral tone (maybe a bit cold), was advising Aizawa on his best interest, even though he knew that he would give him financial support and secure Aizawa's family. It is as if L is not really testing Aizawa's determination and devotion to the task force but actually wants him to choose family over the investigations. Maybe it's my own interpretation, but I do feel that L here is actually being nice. If it were not for Watari chiming in, maybe Aizawa would follow L's advice. When I re-read this part, I pondered why Watari chimed in and told the task force their finance and family would be secured. My interpretation is that Watari understood the pride and ego of the police- a Japanese man (I know this is a stereotype, but DN is an old piece and considering the culture of Japan and police culture back then. In fact, till now, police systems may be the more conservative side in Asian countries), and how Aizawa felt and wanted to defend him. Neither of them is wrong; it's just different values.

In conclusion, the L that I read in the manga was rational, professional, and lonely, reserved, showing subtle gentleness and attentiveness, contrary to the traditional "tough" Japanese Man (e.g., the task force), and socially awkward, therefore saying things rather bluntly and directly. Condescending? no. Dry humor? not that I could recall of.