Ebisumaru - With A Little Help From My Friends

So, I was looking at a friend's YouTube profile earlier today (or yesterday, depending on where you are), and I noticed she uploaded a new video. My favorite character from this series has been featured in an AMV with an excellent song by my favorite band...happiness on all sides (Ugh...I can't believe I wrote that, I feel evil now). And she mentioned me and the translation project in the video description...that was nice of her, I think.

Thank you very much for brightening my day, mysticalninjaduelist/RandomS! Even if it doesn't help this project get more attention, at least you've made yet another great video! Everybody who reads this should go and tell her how awesome she is!

GG4 - Part 4

Ganbare Goemon 4 (English) - Yae pt. 1

Because of YouTube's time restrictions, I had to do something a little bit different this time around: I released two Yae videos. This first one was uploaded on April 20, 2008 and covered 5 scenes. Let's start.

Scene 14: Kaizo

Kaizo: Oh! Even someone with a tender face like yours has a great weapon like that! It doesn’t fit someone like you!
Yae: Eh? This bazooka?
Kaizo: Yeah! If I had that weapon, I could have the power of a million people! Well, give it to me! Give it to me!
Narrator: Give the bazooka?
Yae: Give./Don’t give.
Kaizo: Ga ha ha! Gotcha! I was just kidding...Now that I think about it, we don’t even have the necessary parts! There’s an old man in Fubi City who owns a shop where they sell stuff like that. I ordered something from them last month. Would you go get it for me?
Yae: What?! Me?
Kaizo: Of course! I’m gonna do you a favor, so you can do this simple thing for me! Well, I’m counting on you!

This...guy...is...nuts. And Yae's crazy if she's even considering giving the bazooka to him.

Kaizo is one of many NPC names in GG4 that's a pun. The word "kaizou" means "remodeling" or "reconstructing" in Japanese, which fits considering the fact that he (eventually) remodels the bazooka.

I had to do some math with this scene, and with one other one that I'll mention later. The Japanese number system is..."based" on ten thousands (the proper term is escaping me at the moment), whereas English is "based" on hundreds. So, this was 100 ten thousands, or 1,000,000.

Scene 15: That's What I Want

Gatekeeper: If you want to pass through here, you need to pay 100,000,000 ryo!
Yae: What?!
Yae: I understand./I’ll kill you!
Gatekeeper: Very well!

Anybody ever heard of the song "Money"? The Beatles covered it. Anyway, that's where I got the title.

The Gatekeeper guy ends most of his sentences with "zukin," which is a hood (remember that the "hooded halfwits" were "baka zukin"). Unfortunately, there's really no way to translate this weird idiosyncrasy into English, so it had to be cut out completely.

Scene 16: Dirty Jobs with Yae

Nikuemon: Oh my--! Young ladies shouldn’t come to a place like this.
Yae: Mister! I need 100,000,000 ryo!
Nikuemon: Heh...100,000,000 ryo, eh? You’re so young and you need this kind of money? That’s unusual. This job is not what you think. It’s not very clean. Why don’t you look someplace else?
Yae: I understand. I quit!/Please, I want to do it!
Nikuemon: You don’t understand. Once you start this job, you won’t be able to go back after a while. Is that okay?
Yae: I don’t care!/That worries me...
Nikuemon: Are you ready? Then from now on, you’re my slave! I don’t want to hear any complaining out of you! Come into the other room and I’ll give you your assignment. Quickly, now! This way!
Nikuemon: Forget about yourself! Just do as I say and satisfy me needs. I’ll teach you an important lesson! If you go out this door, don’t be ashamed, but buy everything I tell you to! Okay! Hurry! Remember everything I’m telling you! Green onion...Tofu...Shirataki...Beef...4 things altogether! I’ll give you one and a half million ryo, so get started! There are 3 produce shops. Use your head and spend your money wisely. If you don’t buy everything, there will be trouble...Well, my slave! Go to the store!
---
Nikuemon: Oh! Welcome home, my slave! How did it go? Hand over your sack! Show me. Hmm...beef...okay! Hmm...shirataki...okay! Hmm...tofu...okay! Hmm...green onion...okay! Oh! Splendid! I knew you could do it! Well done, well done! I must reward you for doing such a great job! Here’s the 100,000,000 ryo you asked for!

First of all, the title is a reference to the name of a TV show and the one line where the boss says that this job is "not very clean." I just thought I should get that out of the way.

Nikuemon is yet another punny name. The word literally means "flesh clothing" or "body clothing", probably a reference to something he clearly lacks.

Chances are you already know what three of the items he asks for are, but you may or may not be familiar with shirataki. Well, here's some info. And here is a picture of some different brands (I think). There also seems to be shirataki shaped like fettuccine and spaghetti, so I guess most types of low-calorie Japanese noodles would qualify.

I'm well aware of most (if not all) of the suggestiveness in this scene. Actually, I'm pretty sure I changed some of it to make it seem slightly more innocent, but there's still a bit there. For all I know, this could've been an unconscious decision. I've been corrupted somehow.

Scene 17: Money Makes the World Go Round

Gatekeeper: Oh! Oh! The 100,000,000 ryo! Thank you. Ah! It looks like it’s all there! You know, since you’re such a hot chick, I’ll tell you something great! This town’s Tub Man knows a lot of great magic! If you flatter him a bit, he’ll be glad to teach you something!
Yae: T-Tub Man? Understood! I’ll be sure to go look for him!
Gatekeeper: Well then, farewell!

The "hot chick" term was "pretty girl", then "hot girl" for a while, until I realized that the Japanese term is considered fairly low-class and I could go further with that. Thus, Yae is the hot chick. Big surprise there.

Scene 18: The Missing Piece

Yae: Kaizo from the Stream Town asked me to come and get something for him...
Parts Shop: Ah, I have the part right here. It’s very small, so don’t you dare lose it!
Yae: Th-This is the missing piece? I can barely even see it. Well, thank you very much.

Not much to say here. The fact that this guy tells Yae not to lose the part suggests that she will, but, surprisingly (or perhaps not), she never does.

So, that's it for Part 1 of the Yae series. Part 2, which was released the next day, April 21, 2008, covers the last 3 scenes.



Ganbare Goemon 4 (English) - Yae pt. 2

Scene 19: Rub-a-dub-dub

Tub Man: What’re you looking at?
Narrator: What are you gonna say to improve the Tub Man’s mood?
Yae: You’re so handsome!/You’re so beautiful!
Yae: Oh, you’re just so beautiful! I can’t take my eyes off of you!
Tub Man: Ooh, you understand! You may not be as beautiful as me, but you’re pretty cute yourself. I’ll give you something G-O-O-D!
Yae: Y-Yes, please do...
Tub Man: Voila! I’ll make you beautiful, and you’ll even be able to swim underwater!
Yae: Underwater? Really?
Tub Man: Yeah! You’ll be like a fish woman!
Yae: (Ooh...the power of the Mermaid Jutsu is within me now!)
Narrator: Yae gained the Mermaid Jutsu. Push the blue button while swimming at the surface of the water, and you can transform!
Tub Man: Now go forth! The life of a fish woman is the color of the rose!
Yae: (M-My life...) Umm...if you say so. Well, goodbye!

What a strange person. I know if somebody like Yae called me "beautiful" (or handsome, for that matter), I would probably just stare with a dumbfounded expression on my face and wonder what the hell they're thinking. Or if they're blind or something...err, I'd better shut up now.

Well, if Sasuke can be a spider, Yae can be a fish woman. It only makes sense. But I don't really know what he means exactly when he says that the life of a fish woman is the color of the rose. Does that mean it's a happy life? Like, pink? Or red? I'm kind of confused...

Scene 20: Kaizo Revisited

Yae: (Huff, huff) I brought that part back.
Kaizo: Oh, you’re so late! I was getting tired of waiting for you!
Yae: Please take care of this right away.
Kaizo: Okay! Just a moment, watch carefully how I do this!
Yae: Ah!
Kaizo: Ooh! Success!
Yae: Thank you so much! Well, I think it’s time for me to say goodbye and get going!
Kaizo: Hey, wait just a minute! You have to give me money! Money! Ga ha ha! Oh, never mind. You’re special, so I think this one’ll be free!
Narrator: Yae obtained the lock-on bazooka! Now you can defeat many enemies at the same time!
Kaizo: Do your best, Mr. Long-haired guy!
Yae: I’m a woman!
Kaizo: I’m just joking!

I for one find it hilarious that Kaizo calls Yae a "long-haired" guy, especially considering how everybody else she meets comments on how beautiful she is. And yes, I'm probably gonna get shot for saying that.

Actually, I originally had him being fully convinced (rather than just joking) that Yae is really a boy. But, it's somewhat ambiguous, and given his personality, I thought this made more sense. Oh well. If I got it wrong, I got it wrong. Not a big deal.

Scene 21: And You Must be...the Crybaby

Tsujigiri: EEE!
Yae: Wh-What the--?! It’s a monster!
Tsujigiri: EEEEE! Monster?! What is this? You shouldn’t be so stuck up just because you’re more beautiful than I am!
Yae: Heh heh...ha...
Tsujigiri: I’m just tired because we’ve been busy every day trying to stop Lord Seppukumaru from carrying out his “Seppuku Challenge”!
Yae: “Seppuku Challenge?” How strange...
Tsujigiri: EE EE EEEEEE! Even so, I have to stop all of you from taking over this castle and interfering with our plans! I’ve got an idea! I can fight you with my giant robot!
Yae: Giant robot, you say? I’d better call Impact!

OK...I only used this title because my dad worked on "Thumb Wars." The scene goes a little something like this (I may have gotten one or two things wrong, but...oh well. Most of this is copied from the imdb page.):

Loke Groundrunner: (sobbing)
Oobedoob Benubi: Crying is for little girls, babies, and men who just had their ears ripped off.
Loke Groundrunner: (sniffs) Wh-Who are you?
Oobedoob Benubi: I am Oobedoob Benubi. I have the silliest name in the galaxy.
Loke Groundrunner: What's your middle-name?
Oobedoob Benubi: Scooby-Dooby.
Loke Groundrunner: Oobedoob Scooby-Dooby Benubi?
Oobedoob Benubi: One and the same. And you must be...the Crybaby.

I barely made it here in one piece...the last room in this place is pretty tough to get through. Oh well, that's of little importance.

What is important is that I've figured out that all the mechas that the Tsujigiri use have names. They are:

Itakaro:Junkie (Something like that)
Rokudenashi: Montana Q
Hatarino: Samurainer (The last part is supposed to sound like "liner")
Nyanko: Miss Mizugei (Literally, "Miss Water Tricks")

So, that's it for this post. If you like my work (or even if you hate it), please let me know what you think. Perhaps this is a good time to remind people that you do NOT need an account to leave comments here on the blog. Anonymous comments are welcome.

I can't tell you how discouraging it is to do something like this and get the impression that very few people care. Well, that's how I feel right now. I hate to beg, I really do, but I need more reassurance from the fandom that this is worth it. I'm not saying you have to comment on every thing every single week, but I'm doing this for the good of the fans, and there's no point in continuing if nobody seems to be interested. You can take that as a threat.

Sorry, I just think that this is making me really bitter right now. So, on that rather...unhappy note, I bid you all farewell.

GG4 - Part 3

Ganbare Goemon 4 (English) - Sasuke

Released on April 13, 2008, this is the video that makes English translations of "Sasuke's scenes" from Ganbare Goemon 4 available to you. This is likely my favorite of the three GG4 videos I've released so far. I think the strange characters that Sasuke meets along the way make this a very interesting batch. So, without any further ado, let's discuss them.

Scene 9: Sasuke the Paperboy

Delivery man: (Cough! Cough!) Unn...I caught a cold, but I have to deliver the morning newspaper. I don’t think I can make it. Do you know anybody else who can do this for me? (Cough!) It would help a lot! (Hack!)
Sasuke: How about me?/Goodbye!
Delivery man: Lucky! Thank you! There are 6 newspapers altogether! You have to deliver all the newspapers before the chicken cries three time. I will give you something great if you can do this! (Cough!) Well, good luck! (Cough! Cough! Cough!)
---
Sasuke: Here’s your newspaper!
Birobiro: Thank you very much! Just leave it there.
---
Sasuke: Phew! Just in time. Well, I’d better head back to that news shop.
Delivery man: Oh! You did a good job! I promised you that I would give you something special...(Cough!) With this pass, you won’t have any problems getting past the guard at the edge of town. Well, it’s freezing, so don’t get catch a cold...(Cough! Cough!)

"Birobiro" is apparently yet another punny Japanese name that is the sound of somebody sticking their tongue out. Sarahsuke has proposed a theory (she's a smart one, isn't she) that some of the NPCs in Sasuke's chapter of the game have names that have to do with being sick, since they live in a place that's always cold. Pretty interesting, eh?

The Delivery man actually says he'll give Sasuke important news or information, so I didn't get that one quite right. It'll all make sense later.

Scene 10: We're All Bombs, Hey!

Bomber: Yah! I’m a bomb! You’re a bomb, too! I saw you working very hard this morning. You’re a very nice guy. No, wait, the best guy! Am I right? Ga ha ha ha ha ha...phew...
Sasuke: What just happened?
Bomber: Lately, we’ve been making great big bombs and making lots of money from them! But I’d like to make something even bigger than that! Huge!
Sasuke: Well, you could power up my firecracker bomb!
Bomber: All right, baldy! If you want it, you have to give me 500 ryo first!
Sasuke: Y-You want money?!
Narrator: Will you pay 500 ryo?
Sasuke: Pay./I quit!
Sasuke: Please do it!
Bomber: Oh, this’ll be a piece of cake! Yaaah! Raaah! Oooh waah! A ha! I did it! See, baldy, I made a very powerful firecracker bomb! You can shoot huge fireworks with this baby!
Narrator: Sasuke obtained the Big Firecracker Bombs! These bombs cause a huge explosion!
Sasuke: I’m very happy with this! Well, I’ll see you again sometime. Goodbye!

I'm a dude, he's a dude, she's a dude, we're all dudes, HEY!...All right, I'd best shut up before people get irritated. I don't even know if those are the real lyrics...

Wow, this guy's a real nut. Apparently, Sasuke thinks so, too. He seems really confused a lot of the time in this video.

The Bomber (who is called "Bakudan", which means "bomb" in Japanese) refers to Sasuke as "bouzu", a term that was used to describe young boys at the time. Nowadays, it's a crew cut, but back then boys used to have shaved heads, and bouzu refers to this fact. So the Bomber gives this guy, "the best guy", a nickname that refers to the fact that he's lacking in the hair department. By the way, even though he says he's a bomb, I thought it would be weird to just call him "Bomb". Everybody in this game seems to have a strange preoccupation with them...

Scene 11: The Mysterious Mecha-maniac

Sasuke: I have a pass here. Please let me through.
Guard: I see...you have a pass. All right, you can go! However, there are lots of deep canyons up ahead, so you’ll have a hard time going through. If you can climb the walls, you might be able to make it. Otherwise, you might as well turn back now.
Messenger: (Huff, huff...) Are you Sasuke? I have a special message for you from the delivery man!
Sasuke: You can get a mechanical powerup if you come to Tundra Town. Come and see!...Mecha-maniac. Hmm...I’d better go see what this means!

This was the important news that the Delivery Man was talking about. I don't know whether it's a letter or an advertisement of some kind, but I'm guessing the latter because of the next scene. I hope I made it clear enough that Sasuke is reading from the ad or letter at the end...

"Come and see!" is ripped directly from a refrain in a Decemberists song.

Scene 12: Sasuke the Spider

Mecha-maniac: Oo, hee hee...I am not an octopus! I am the Mecha-maniac! Did you see my advertisement? All right, we’ll power you up right away! Oo, hee hee hee!
Sasuke: I’ve got a bad feeling about this...
Mecha-maniac: All right, we’re finished!
Sasuke: I don’t think anything’s changed...
Mecha-maniac: No! That’s not true! You can use your kunai to climb on walls now! You’ll be an expert at that, it’ll change your entire life! Well? How do you like that?
Sasuke: Th-Thank you very much.
Narrator: Sasuke gained the kunai climbing ability! Move towards the wall and press the blue button!
Mecha-maniac: (There’s still 1 part left over, but I’d better not say anything...)

Spiderbot, Spiderbot. Does whatever a Spiderbot does...wait, that's not quite right, is it?

Ah, Mekamania, which I translated as Mecha-maniac. He's got one of the many weird laughs that some characters in this series are known for (Bismaru comes to mind right away as another example).

It's a bit ambiguous what the maniac's really talking about with the advertisement, so I just assumed that he was welcoming Sasuke as an interested customer who had seen his ad and come in for an upgrade. He's apparently not very good, though. He left a part out, but as far as I know, it doesn't really affect Sasuke negatively. It was probably included just to worry the player.

Scene 13: Hairy (and Grumpy) Manju

Tsujigiri: Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo...
Sasuke: (Hmm...What a suspicious fellow.) (He looks like a manju with hair...) (He’s not saying anything. He’s so quiet, I have no idea what he’s thinking about...) Hey you! Mr. Hairy Manju!
Tsujigiri: H-Hairy manju?! Now you’ve really made me mad! I’m gonna kill you! I’ll fight you with my giant robot!
Sasuke: Hmm...Is something bothering you? Where’d you go? Well, if you want a fight, I’m not going to run away! I’d better call Impact to help me!

Here is the Wikipedia page on manju. Unfortunately, there's no picture. But fear not! That's what Google Image search is for!

Heh, Hatarino's reaction is a bit...extreme. And this is all the proof I need that Sasuke is fairly naive in his interactions with other people.

So, that about wraps it up for this one. I hope you guys enjoyed watching this set of scenes as much as I did. It's likely my favorite of the three so far.

Also, I'd just like to remind anybody who's interested that I'm looking for help with this. You don't even have to know Japanese, contact me and I'll see what I can have you do. I'm most interested in recruiting some translators right now, but even people who want to help with publicity or production of the videos are welcome. Just throwing that out there.

GG4 - Part 2

Ganbare Goemon 4 (English) - Ebisumaru

I'm a bit later than I would've liked in getting this up, but here it is. (Who would have guessed that I'd have LESS free time during a week where I have no exams?) Released on April 8, 2008, this video covers the Forest Area (Ebisumaru). It was great, although very challenging, to make a video that featured my favorite character in the series. Yes, these scenes laid the weird Kansai-ben dialect on very heavily, making it somewhat difficult even for native speakers of (Tokyo) Japanese to understand. Let's just get to the analysis...

Scene 6: Rivals from the Start

Ebisumaru: H-He looks just like me!
Obisumaru: Oh my--! Wh-What’s going on? It’s like looking in a mirror!
Ebisumaru: Except he’s got an ugly nose. It looks like botamochi...
Obisumaru: B-Botamochi?! Well, you look like a filthy tanuki, with the big gut jiggling from side to side and everything! I think I look respectable!
Ebisumaru: Filthy tanuki?! You’re the one with the big, fat, round stomach and face!
Obisumaru: Can’t you see that I have a beautiful face?
Ebisumaru: If you’re ugly, you’re just ugly! There’s nothing you can do about that!
Obisumaru: I can’t associate with the likes of you anymore! Just listen to this pig whine! Boo hoo hoo!
Ebisumaru: P-P-Pig?! Argh! You’ll regret saying that! I challenge you! I challenge you to a contest! I bet I can bring more girls back here than you!
Obisumaru: I think not! Very well, I accept your challenge! However, beautiful people only. Ugly women don’t count!
Ebisumaru: Are you stupid or something? I only like beautiful people, and beautiful people like me!
Obisumaru: Hoo hoo! We’ll see about that! When you hear the cow cry three times, you have to come back here!
Ebisumaru: Cow crying three times, got it! I don’t have much time, but I will return with beautiful girls!
Ebisumaru/Obisumaru: Humph!
---
Ebisumaru: Well, hey there, young lady! How would you like to come with me for a little while? Eh? Eh? Eh?
Girl: That sounds wonderful! I don’t have anything better to do, so I’ll go if it’s just for a little while.
---
Obisumaru: You didn’t run away, even though you can’t possibly win a challenge against me!
Ebisumaru: I thought you would be jealous if I brought back some girls.
Obisumaru: Well, let’s begin! Come oooon, referee!
Ebisumaru: I may not look like it, but I’m a regular ladies’ man! You’re just a small fry! A small fry! Ho, ho, ho, ha ha! (Oink, squeal)
Obisumaru: Aaaaargh! I lost! But how?! My p-p-pride...
Referee: Well done! Ebisumaru has won a special prize. We’ll give him the lovely ballerina drill!
Ebisumaru: Ooh! Ballerina? D-Drill? This is like a dream come true!
Referee: With this, you have amazing power! You can dig into suspicious-looking rocks or ground! Well, please accept it!
Narrator: Ebisumaru obtained the ballerina drill! The blue button lets you spin round and round and drill as a ballerina!
Ebisumaru: Whoa! This is so amazing! It fits me perfectly! Hee hee hee hee...
Obisumaru: Quit it! Help me!

First off: this is botamochi. A pretty accurate description, I'd say. And the tanuki, everybody knows what that is, right? It's the raccoon dog thingy that gives you money at the end of every level (well, actually, that's just a statue...), a type of spirit that causes a lot of trouble for Goemon and the gang. It's known for having a huge stomach and...well, I'll just give you a link.

Obisumaru (or an Obisumaru lookalike) apparently appeared in the towns of Ganbare Goemon 2 as the thief that would take some of your money on contact. So, although this may not be the first appearance of Obisumaru, it is his elevation in character status. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Obisumaru speaks with a Kansai-ben dialect, just like Ebisumaru.

Isn't it strange that Ebisumaru can just barge into a random woman's house, and the woman decides to leave with this strange man because she has nothing better to do? Well, this might be true simply by virtue of living where they do. The city where this scene takes place is known as "Nanpa City", and what Ebisumaru is doing could probably be considered a form of nanpa. Ebisumaru uses extremely charming (and surprisingly masculine) language while asking the girls out.

By the way, there's a no-risk trick to getting at least a couple of the pretty girls during this minigame, if you've got a good memory. Go into all the houses and take note of their inhabitants. I'm pretty sure the person inside each house doesn't change after the contest officially starts. Happy hunting!

Of course, I was apparently too dumb to successfully follow my own advice. The first house I went into had one of the old hags instead of the young girl, but I had started recording before going into the house. I was so shocked by my mistake, I stopped recording before she said anything. Luckily, she was the first lady I picked up, so removing her from the entourage wasn't too frustrating. True story. I just wish I hadn't stopped recording so that I could include both responses in the video.

In my opinion, these girls are wearing too much makeup. They look like ghosts...and they follow you like zombies, with the arms outstretched and everything. Kind of creepy.

Heh, Ebisumaru's life ambition is to be a ballerina, apparently. Kind of odd, but this is Ebisumaru we're talking about here. I guess it's not too much of a surprise. Also, he apparently oinks (squeals like a pig) when he gets excited.

Overall, this is funny, but I think I could have made Obisumaru sound more arrogant and such. Oh well. What's done is done.

Scene 7: Return of the Reflection Shuriken

Ninzo: Ah! Are you a ninja, too? How did you find this secret hideout? Well, since you’re here, I will give you my favorite legendary shuriken from when I was still young and healthy.
Ebisumaru: Ah! That’s mine! I lost it when I came to this star, and that’s made things tougher for me! I think that reflection shuriken is mine!
Ninzo: Eh? Th-This is yours? Oh, ho ho...Well, if you hit the wall, it’ll rebound off the wall and come back to you. Let’s see if you can do it and this is really yours!
Ebisumaru: It’s obvious! Thanks for finding this for me!
Narrator: Ebisumaru regained the reflection shuriken! This shuriken can bounce off of walls!
Ebisumaru: Well then, goodbye!

Notice the similarity in name between Ninzo and Kinzo. Related, perhaps?

As it is, this scene doesn't really make a lot of sense to me, and that makes me think I screwed up somehow. Why does Ninzo say that he'll give Ebisumaru the shuriken, and then he insists on having the Ninja of Justice prove that it's really his? And then nothing happens, but Ebisumaru takes it and leaves anyway. Well, that last one might be a bit easier to explain. My guess is that Ebisumaru just quickly snatched it up and decided to get the hell out of there. After all, his goodbye is shortened somewhat ("sainara" as opposed to "sayonara").

Scene 8: Eggs + Bombs = ???

Tsujigiri: A, ha ha ha ha! Welcome! Isn’t it great to play sports non-stop and work up a real sweat?
Ebisumaru: Thanks to you, I’m practically dripping with sweat!
Tsujigiri: Oh, is that so? Well, we drip with sweat every day because we’re carrying powerful bombs in our bodies. Of all things, seppuku...
Ebisumaru: What?! Seppuku?! That harakiri thing?
Tsujigiri: Oof, how could I let that secret slip?! I guess I have to fight you with my giant robot now! Well, I’m off!
Ebisumaru: Why do you have to do this? Well, what can you do. I’d better call Impact!

Da da da da da da da with those tossed salads and scrambled eggs...OK, I'll shut up now.

Here is the seppuku Wikipedia page. There's lots of interesting stuff there, so I recommend you take a look it if you don't think you'd get sick reading about something like that. Basically, the way it was described to me by my grandmother, was taking a knife, cutting your stomach open, and letting all your innards fall out. It's very slow, and very painful, and somebody would usually be waiting behind you to cut off your head after you're done actually committing seppuku. Seppukumaru's full name is Harakiri Seppukumaru, one of the many punny names in Ganbare Goemon.

Interesting...Seppukumaru's not the only one with a bomb. Does that mean the Tsujigiri have to commit seppuku as well to carry out their plan? We shall see.

So, that's about it, but I do have one thing to say before I go. I don't know who actually takes the time to read this, but if you do, I'm begging you to leave some sort of feedback for me somewhere. A lot of the people I've told about this think I should be getting paid for it. Now, I'm definitely not gonna ask for money, but some comments would be really nice. I know the Goemon fandom is pretty small, but there's gotta be more than just two or three people who are interested in this. It's not exactly encouraging when I go through the trouble of doing this and almost nobody seems to care. Thank you for your time.

GG4 - Part 1

Ganbare Goemon 4 (English) - Intro and Goemon




Here it is, the first video of my newest translation project. Ganbare Goemon 4, the Introduction and Desert Area (Goemon), released on April 1, 2008. I'm hoping I can divide the videos by character/area, meaning there'll be about 6 of them total, including the mysterious "Omitsu" scene (which, because of its length and complexity, was not included in this video and will instead get its own).

I had some difficulty making this video, not because of the actual translation, but because I was using iMovie HD instead of plain old iMovie. Apparently, the latter doesn't work with the new OS. (A word of advice to all Mac users out there: OS 10.5.1 is more trouble than it's worth.) It is a lot faster and gives me finer control over subtitle lengths, and that's nice, but I'm also more limited in that length and there's a delay as the subtitles fade into and out of view. That can make the video seem somewhat...disjointed, in my opinion. I don't know, maybe I'm not explaining myself well enough, let me know what you think.

Also...HALLELUJAH! It looks like, so far, GG4 doesn't have the framerate issues that GG3 had. I don't know whether that's because of the game itself, or because of the different program, but that is a huge relief for me. Even so, I'll continue putting the full scripts here, with whatever analysis I can offer of the scene itself. They're filled with all the awkward dialogue you've come to expect from me and the Ganbare Goemon series. Let's get started:

Scene 1: A Four-Part Planetary Investigation

Impact: That’s Planet Impact.
Goemon: Why does it look so foggy there, like the ruins of a fire?
Impact: According to my analysis, there is some sort of guard protecting the entire perimeter of the planet.
Ebisumaru: Just in midair like that...
Sasuke: We have to go investigate all those areas surrounding the planet.
Yae: Let’s divide the investigation work between all of us!
Impact: I need everybody’s support here.
Goemon: Okay! Sounds like a good plan! Hurry, let’s go, everybody!

Not much to this one, though it does explain why everybody's separated at the start of the game (in case it wasn't obvious already). Though it does make you wonder what Seppukumaru wants with Planet Impact, anyway...

Scene 2: The Chain Pipe

Hinarin: I just found this strange thing here in this room...
Goemon: Th-That’s a chain pipe!
Hinarin: Oh, this is yours? Well, I am very hungry now. If you give me a rice ball, I’ll return this to you.
Goemon: (D-Difficult girl!) No problem!
Narrator: Will you give the rice ball?
Goemon: Give./Don’t give.
Hinarin: Thank you! All right, I’ll return this to you!
Narrator: Goemon regained the chain pipe! Hook onto and swing from the Manji blocks!
Goemon: All right! With this, everything should be perfect!

"The Chain Pipe" was supposed to sound like "The Crane Wife" (which is based on a Japanese folk tale, by the way). Yeah. I don't think anybody would've gotten that.

How did Goemon's chain pipe end up here, anyway? That's very odd.

Everybody knows what a manji is, right? It was mentioned once or twice in GG3, and I may or may not have talked about it before. Yes, it looks like a swastika, but Goemon's not a Nazi. In the Buddhist religion, the manji represents Dharma (the underlying order in nature), universal harmony, and the balance of opposites. When the manji "faces left" (as it does on the title screen of GG3 and on the blocks in GG4), it represents love and mercy. When it "faces right", it represents strength and intelligence. The right-facing swastika is associated with Nazism, so almost all Buddhist manji nowadays faces left. So, once again, GOEMON IS NOT A NAZI! And I assure you, I'm not either, even if I did go to the "Swastika" Wikipedia page to find all this out...gulp...

Scene 3: Wait, What's That About a Wedding?

Yomezo: And now, Goemon and Omitsu’s wedding...ah! D-Did you defeat the Tanuki? Thank you, I’m in your debt. But how is your strength?
Goemon: Since coming to this star, I haven’t had my usual strength!
Yomezo: If you ask Kinzo in the Oasis Town, he can give you something so you’ll be strong again.
Goemon: Oh, that’s great news! I’ll go to the Oasis Town and talk to this Kinzo immediately! Thank you very much!

Before you "defeat the Tanuki," you can go into a church where the priest begins his speech with that first line. Imagine the shock of walking into a random church and finding out you're about to get married to the girl of your dreams. Heh, I'll probably have to rely on some dumb luck like that. It's pretty much hopeless for me, otherwise.

Umm...anyway, just for your information, they're holding a funeral (or a wake) for Ebisumaru in the house next door. As far as I can tell, the funeral is fairly accurate, though it seems the offering that the deceased's loved ones are supposed to make is somewhat lacking. I guess Ebisumaru doesn't have a lot of rich relatives. Japanese funerals are currently the most expensive in the world, by the way (about 4 million yen, on average). For more info, go here.

I wonder what Goemon means when he says he doesn't have his usual strength. Does it mean he's forgotten all his ninjutsu? Or that his "health" is somewhat low? I have no idea.

Scene 4: Kinzo

Kinzo: Oh! I heard about you from Yomezo! You’ll get your strength back right now. Yaaaaah!
Goemon: Whoa!
Kinzo: (Huff, puff...) Now you should be as good as new...phew...
Goemon: Wonderful! Now I can attack with Koban coins!
Narrator: Goemon received the charged koban! Now he feels like he has the strength of 100 people!
Goemon: Thank you! May you have a long life, sir!

It turns out that the "Flaming Ryo" might actually be a "Flaming Koban." Besides being the name of a ninja cat in the series, a koban is a coin, larger in size than a ryo. Also, Impact's Nasal Bullets aren't ryo. They're koban. The full length version of the song "Ore wa Impact" ("I am Impact") mentions "hana kara koban", or "koban from the nose." Makes sense considering the size difference between the two types of coins.

Bah. I always thought the Flaming Ryo, or Koban, or whatever it is, was somewhat overrated. Get up close and bash 'em, that's the real way to play!

Scene 5: Oedo, Town of the Bodybuilders

Tsujigiri: Ke ke ke! How did you manage to come all the way here? (Ke!) You must exercise constantly and be in great shape! (Ke!)
Goemon: What are you talking about?! Of course I’m in great shape, I’m from Oedo!
Tsujigiri: Ke ke! I don’t understand what you’re saying! (Ke!) But Lord Seppukumaru’s bomb...oops!
Goemon: Bomb?! What are you talking about?!
Tsujigiri: Ke ke ke...You’ll know soon enough (Ke!)...if you leave this place alive, that is! (Ke!)
Goemon: Damn it! I’m extremely worried about that bomb!
Tsujigiri: Ke ke! What? You don’t understand? (Ke!) Well, for the time being, my giant robot will slice you to pieces! (Ke!)
Goemon: Grr! I can’t worry and be defeated by this loser! I’ll call Impact!

Considering I come from a state that's run by "The Governator", I find this title kind of funny. You may or may not find my strange sense of humor agreeable.

Anyway, it seems that, having a boss that's obsessed with sports, the Tsujigiri are concerned with physical fitness, especially that of their opponents. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I THINK Rokudenashi (who Ebisumaru faces) also mentions something about exercise. Of course, look at Ebisumaru and you'll understand why.

In the Japanese version of the anime, all four Tsujigiri end most of their sentences with some word or phrase. The "ke" that Itakaro (I hope I got that right...) uses here is different from what he says in the anime (and I can't, for the life of me, remember what he says there...), but it seems to be more like a chuckle than anything else. If you watch the 2nd OVA, it's very distinctive, to the point of being annoying.

The bomb is a very important component of the story, so remember that. Not like you'll ever forget, right?

So, that about wraps it up for this one. Hope you enjoyed all the useless info I gave you here.

By the way, I'm having way too much fun with the popularity statistics that you can see for your videos now. I don't know how long they've been there, but I just noticed them, and now I can see where people are watching these videos from. States that show up the most? California, Wisconsin (those two aren't at all surprising), Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Texas (which, strangely enough, is completely absent from GG3 Part 9). I've also gotten quite a few views from people in France and Japan.

All right, now I'm seriously wrapping this post up. See ya next time!