Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Kurosaki Ranmaru Q&A Session

All of the translations linked here are my own work. Please DO NOT re-post or screenshot my work without permission.



Each of the 11 idols have a Q&A page adjacent to their solo interview page. There are 15 questions about private life and hypothetical situations, and the questions are the same for all characters. 

Ranmaru's Q&A can be found on page 119 of the 5th Anniversary Book.





Q1 What about you has changed compared to yourself from long ago?
I can live a decent life. When I came to Tokyo, I barely had enough to eat. My sense of stability changed just from obtaining food, clothing, and shelter.

Q2 What is considered a precious possession to you?
My bass guitar. It’s my life. If I don’t have it I’m restless. Even if I’m busy, if I don’t play it once a day I go crazy.


Q3 About how many hours of sleep do you get on average?
Including naps, I guess it’s a moderate amount. I usually go straight to sleep unless I have something to do. If I could I’d wanna sleep more than 8 hours.


Q4 What animal would you have as a pet?
A cat. Right now one lives at my place as it pleases. That’s how things turned out, but it’s good that it’s not too troublesome.


Q5 What physical feature do you like about yourself?
My hands. They’re relatively large, huh. As a bassist, my fingers are an important tool of trade. I grow fond of what I use often.


Q6 If you could use a time machine, would you travel to the past or the future?
The future. Reflecting on the past doesn’t change anything. It’s better to think about what’s ahead. Well, though even if I go to the future there’s nothing to do.


Q7 If you could do something else for just one day, what would it be?
There’s nothing in particular I'd wanna be. I guess something I’d probably be able to do is be a cook. I knew a little bit about it a long time ago.


Q8 What do you often spend time doing while you’re waiting around?
I nap. Later if I’m hungry, I eat the catering that’s left. Being hungry while on air is the worst. So both are in preparation for work.


Q9 If you were an animal, what would you be?
HUH? So what if I was one? I don’t get the point of this. Anything’s fine. As long as it’s wild and ‘rock’ whatever is okay.


Q10 What have you been into lately?
Eating fruit. Especially bananas. They’re handy, delicious, and filling. It’s the best. They’re also easy on the wallet. That’s helpful.


Q11 What’s your favorite amusement park ride?
I don’t really go often so I dunno. I really don’t know. I guess it would be good to ride something that looks appealing?


Q12 What item of stress-relief do you like?
Eating something delicious. It’s the best feeling when you’re eating something you like, right? As long as I’m full, my heart’s also at ease.


Q13 What place would you currently like to try visiting?
Something with a lot of nature. Whether it’s the sea or the mountains, as long as it has a good view it’s fine. It might even be good to challenge myself with a land I’ve never been to.


Q14 What does work mean to you?
It’s my means of living. Because people can’t eat unless they work. But, there’s something more important than that. There’s no reason to live unless you have a dream.


Q15 What do fans mean to you?
People who understand me. They’re ones who feel what it is I’m trying to do. We can share everything from pleasure to sadness. It’s that kind of relationship.



Translator's Notes and Thoughts:


Ranmaru's masculine way of speaking makes it a little difficult to understand what he's saying sometimes, but it's fun to listen to him. I love how he sounds indifferent to doing this entire Q&A, and even gets annoyed at the question about being an animal. It was really fun to translate this even though it was a little challenging! ☆

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Ittoki Otoya Q&A Session

All of the translations linked here are my own work. Please DO NOT re-post or screenshot my work without permission.



Each of the 11 idols have a Q&A page adjacent to their solo interview page. There are 15 questions about private life and hypothetical situations, and the questions are the same for all characters. 

Otoya's Q&A can be found on page 71 of the 5th Anniversary Book.




Q1 What about you has changed compared to yourself from long ago?
I’ve been able to calm down just a bit! I’m trying to think before I act. But what’s most important to me is that my feelings don’t change.

Q2 What is considered a precious possession to you?
Sure enough it’s my first guitar. Also my soccer ball that I used from a long time ago! I’ve spent so much time with it that I cherish it.


Q3 About how many hours of sleep do you get on average?
About seven hours, I guess? I’d wanna sleep a little longer if I could, but it’s probably because of the work I have after becoming an idol that I can’t.


Q4 What animal would you have as a pet?
It’s not an animal, but I’m raising a cactus! Its named Sabota, but I’m getting it to bloom and grow taller, and I observe it everyday.


Q5 What physical feature do you like about yourself?
My teeth, I guess. Everyone compliments them. Lately I’ve been working out so I feel good about my abs too, but there’s not a lot of chances to show them off, haha.


Q6 If you could use a time machine, would you travel to the past or the future?
That’s difficult! I wanna visit both! Do I have to choose? If I have to, the future, I guess? I reeeally wanna see the future.


Q7 If you could do something else for just one day, what would it be?
I’d wanna be a pro soccer player and play in a match! Since it’s a world where wins and losses are definite, I think it’s a different kind of stimulation from being an idol.


Q8 What do you often spend time doing while you’re waiting around?
Nothing for certain. I do something that I wanna do in order to relax. When I’m sleepy I rest, when I’m hungry I eat…I spend that time freely.


Q9 If you were an animal, what would you be?
A dog. I’m told that I’m direct and friendly like one. Since I like to move my body, if I were a dog I’d probably enjoy walks too.


Q10 What have you been into lately?
I’ve been cycling a lot recently. It’s still ongoing! I can’t help but want a new bicycle so much that it’s hard to hold back.


Q11 What’s your favorite amusement park ride?
Something that spins around! The spinning teacup ride, something that I spin myself, I end up doing those too much. It’s fun feeling dizzy, haha.


Q12 What item of stress-relief do you like?
When I don’t feel great, I try to sing to my heart’s desires. It’s even better if I have a guitar! Just with that I can feel happy.


Q13 What place would you currently like to try visiting?
A good place with scenery! A place with a lot of nature and delicious food would be nice. I wanna go hang out in a group in some place like the sea or the mountains!


Q14 What does work mean to you?
An ongoing dream. Because my wish of being an idol and singing became a reality. I want to continue to cherish it.


Q15 What do fans mean to you?
A source that gives me power. Of course I wanna give back even more! I always want to make people smile.



Translator's Notes and Thoughts:


Otoya is so adorable! I couldn't stop laughing at the part about him taking care of a cactus, and then he was such a tease talking about not having more opportunities to show off his abs, haha. I really loved his answers, and they were really easy to understand! ☆

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

May Translation Roundup

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May is just about over, so I just want to write about my overall thoughts about this translation project thus far.

First off, I'm glad it's been well received. I originally bought this book for the costume references since I'm a cosplayer, but the idol maps really interested me and I wanted to share them with everyone. I remember when I first started looking up UtaPri-related information and just didn't find that much content in English, so for that reason I wanted to contribute something.

Translating has surely gone much faster than I thought it would. When I was asked to translate the Q&A page for Masato, it seemed really long so I thought it would take a while, but I breezed right through! While there are still many words that I have to look up in a dictionary, because I have so much experience and so many resources, translation goes pretty smoothly. I wanted to produce a good amount of content for this blog just to get things going, but from June and on it's possible that I may slow down a bit as I focus on other things like cosplay, my upcoming trip to Japan, and eventually graduate school.

Some goals I have for June are to finish translating the Special Messages from the voice actors of QUARTET NIGHT (as I have finished the seven comments from the ST☆RISH cast), complete at least three more Q&A's, and to get started on translating a different (and possibly more challenging) section of the book, maybe a song review or a staff interview. We'll see what happens! Much thanks to the readers and my followers on Twitter and Tumblr for the support!