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Answerman - Why Do Opening and Ending Song Lyrics Sometimes Get Subtitled In Japanese?

I just wish the music licensors would let companies translate the songs for distribution elsewhere in the world without that official translation only nonsense they've been doing for like the last decade. It's ridiculous that openings and endings are rarely translated on streaming, and that insert songs are ignored when it's plot relevant. At least transcribe the Japanese lyrics in the subs instead of doing nothing. *side-eyes her AKB0048 DVDs*

As foreign-language viewers we're used to reading subtitled lyrics, but if the song is in your native language, it's second nature for your eyes to follow along with the text of the lyrics rather than pay attention to the visuals

I remember back when digital fansubbing was in vogue, and any anime that didn't have on-screen lyrics for the OP & ED were generally translated by ear, which resulted in often incorrect words, lines, & even entire songs;

I just wish the music licensors would let companies translate the songs for distribution elsewhere in the world without that official translation only nonsense they've been doing for like the last decade.

It's ridiculous that openings and endings are rarely translated on streaming, and that insert songs are ignored when it's plot relevant. At least transcribe the Japanese lyrics in the subs instead of doing nothing. *side-eyes her AKB0048 DVDs*

Pretty sure the former has been explained here before.

Triltaison wrote:

I just wish the music licensors would let companies translate the songs for distribution elsewhere in the world without that official translation only nonsense they've been doing for like the last decade.

I don’t follow?

I can't speak to a broad industry trend but I do know that Sailor Moon has both the locked in place translation of 'Senshi' as 'Guardians' and the official demand that certain lyrics NOT be translated because "people can feel the lyrics". They'll just get it, man, if they feel hard enough.

I remember back when digital fansubbing was in vogue, and any anime that didn't have on-screen lyrics for the OP & ED were generally translated by ear, which resulted in often incorrect words, lines, & even entire songs; ...

Lord Geo wrote:

I remember back when digital fansubbing was in vogue, and any anime that didn't have on-screen lyrics for the OP & ED were generally translated by ear, which resulted in often incorrect words, lines, & even entire songs; ...

The fansub lyrics to Mami Kawada's "Borderland" for Jormungand where practically psychedelic by comparison. "Reality and dream" got subbed as "We are the killing team" to name one. "Eeny Meeny Miney Moe" seemed to confound the subbers utterly, so they just let it go without even trying to guess.

Although I found Log Horizon to be fairly mature for a story, even with most of the main characters as adults rather than kids, I was amused that the studios subbed the song lyrics in kanji with furigana, which you'd expect for an audience composed of kids under 10.

CandisWhite wrote:

I can't speak to a broad industry trend but I do know that Sailor Moon has both the locked in place translation of 'Senshi' as 'Guardians' and the official demand that certain lyrics NOT be translated because "people can feel the lyrics". They'll just get it, man, if they feel hard enough.

Doesn't the transformation song literally call them "Sailor Soldiers" in English?

Shiroi Hane wrote:

Pretty sure the former has been explained here before.

Yep, it has indeed been explained here before: animenewsnetwork.com/answerman/2017-09-01/.120752

remember, karaoke has been a popular past time in Japan for a very long time

In the past, virtually every anime TV series had its opening and ending themes subtitled in Japanese.