First off, I wanted to link this essay, which someone wrote about the Yuka vs Mizuki match! I don’t fully agree with the author’s interpretation of the match, but I was so touched by the fact that they referenced my essay and a whole bunch of my translations!
It’s just really cool because I always hoped that the translations would inspire people to write cool stuff about the storylines, and seeing that actually happen is really awesome. I hope there are more essays like this to come!
I’m sad about the fact that it’ll be disappearing behind a paywall, but the author seems interested in making it available somewhere else, so hopefully it’ll remain accessible somewhere!
In other news, I got another chunk of the Grand Princess translation done! I think I’m a bit more than halfway done?
The next match was Moka vs Ryo Mizunami, which was a lot of fun. Aniki might be one of the most charismatic wrestlers on this planet.
The comments for this one were pretty straightforward! Bless Aniki for talking nice and loud haha.
Mizunami: “Thank you very much! First of all, I’m really, really grateful that I could have a match at a place like Ariake. And Moka Miyamoto! Everyone, how did you see Moka Miyamoto through me? Please let me know on Twitter! I fought Miu Watanabe, Suzume, and now Moka Miyamoto today. They were all ambitious, but I liked her gaze the most. That strong, undaunted look in her eyes no matter what happens. At the end, even though I won, the fire in her eyes wasn’t dead. I think that’ll lead to the next step, and I think it’ll show her growth as a wrestler from here. She’s a wrestler with lots and lots of promise. I hope we can face each other again when she’s stronger.”
Here were Moka’s comments:
Miyamoto: “I had a singles match with Mizunami, after seeing her face both Suzume-san and Miu-san. I put everything I’m capable of now into that match, so I have no regrets. In the end, there was a huge difference in power between us. I want to work even harder from now on and become strong like Mizunami-san. Thank you so much!”
The next match was Neko and Andreza Giant Panda vs Kyoraku Kyomei, and this one was just a blast, haha. I absolutely lost it at Andreza pounding the mat to encourage his tag partner, and then the whole convoluted process of getting him in and out of the ring when he made a tag… Just incredible. It was fun seeing Shoko getting to live out her nerd dreams of starring in a match that was effectively a low-budget kaiju film.
The comments had a few tricky bits. First up was Andreza and Neko’s:
Neko: “I was really looking forward to teaming up with Panda today, and it made me really happy, but I lost. I want to team up again, and since you have a family, I want you to bring them next time. I want all of us to fight together.”
Interpreter: “You want to work with Andreza’s family, huh? Got it.” (Speaking to Andreza) “Uh-huh, that’s right. Neko-san, you worked hard today. Don’t worry, there’s always next time.”
(Do you have any reflections on today’s match?)
“Andreza, do you have anything to reflect on? Since it was a tag match, it seems that he regrets that he couldn’t do combined team moves.”
(How did you feel about the surprise attack?)
“He says that he won’t let that bastard Hyper Misao get away with this! If we see each other again, I’m going to smash you, he says.”
The only part I didn’t quite get was this last question: “（上野のシャンシャンが帰って寂しい？）もともと知り合いじゃないんで全然興味ないみたいです.” There’s a chance I’m missing some key Andreza lore haha that would help clarify this, but I’m not sure. Maybe it’s just a Japanese culture thing that I’m missing, haha. I think I found out who シャンシャン is, but that didn’t really help 
.
(Do you miss Xiang Xiang from Ueno?)
“He doesn’t know her in the first place, so he doesn’t seem interested in the slightest.”
In Shoko and Misao’s comments, the first part went alright:
Nakajima: “We’re the strongest!”
Misao: “The strongest!”
Nakajima: “We’re the strongest.”
Then I wasn’t quite sure about this sentence from Shoko: “地球最大の決戦、その世界のビッグ怪獣が世界最強の巨大生物だということをきょう証明できたと私は思っている.”
“In the biggest battle on earth, I think I proved that the Big Kaiju is the strongest giant creature in the world.”
Misao: “Operation Ariake, I thought it was a failure, but we won in the end, so I would say that the operation was a success.”
Nakajima: “With this, we’ve protected peace on earth!”
Misao: “And so we’ve protected the peace at Ariake Coliseum, and at TJPW’s biggest show. It’s all thanks to us!”
Nakajima: “That’s right!”
Misao: “Kyoraku Kyomei is the strongest!”
Nakajima: “We’re the strongest!”
After that was Sakisama’s return match! Finally! After so long… 
.
I realized while translating her comments that she sure uses a lot of keigo, haha, which I don’t think I really picked up on last time I translated her. So in a weird way, I guess it’s good that it has taken her this long to return, because I have at least somewhat of an idea what’s going on there now.
Another interesting note about Sakisama is that she likes to spell the word for match 試愛 instead of 試合, and I was charmed by the fact that whoever transcribed her comments for shupro went with that spelling for the word for her comments. I think I’ll include a translator’s note about this. I don’t remember if Mr. Haku ever explained it or pointed it out, but my friends and I noticed it while combing back through her tweets a few years ago. We translated it informally as “love trial”.
Here are Sakisama and Mei’s comments. Sakisama’s very first line confused me: “久しぶりのここのおリングだったわけだけど、ワタクシたちおリングは久しぶりじゃないの.”
Sakisama: “It has been a while since we’ve graced this ring with our presence, but we have not been away from the ring. We live our lives always encircled by a ring. But, standing here for the first time in a long time, I dare say it was somewhat pleasant. Mei-san, how did you feel?”
Mei-san: “Oui. I am very pleased to be at Ariake Coliseum. And, and… Odaiba? I heard that it was very close.”
Sakisama: “Yes, indeed. It seems that there is a mysterious large globe at Odaiba. We have to find out what is inside of it.”
(Will you sojourn here for a while this time?)
“We still have yet to decide on our schedule for tomorrow. It depends entirely on our mood. If Mei-san is hungry, she won’t participate in the match, and if she’s full, she’ll go to sleep. She’s a moody person.”
I wasn’t quite sure about the last chunk of Sakisama’s answer here: “ワタクシたちは毎晩、お屋敷で舞踏会という…今日、お試愛をしたけどリング上で踊ってたわけ。みなさんもご覧になってたと思うけど。それがお試愛みたいなもんよ.”
(Were you wrestling in France?)
“We hosted a ball at our estate every evening… Even though we had a match today, we were dancing in the ring. I think everyone was watching, and it was like a match. Is there anywhere you want to go besides Odaiba this time?”
Mei-san: “Besides that… I heard that there was a giant robot stomping around there somewhere.”
Then Sakisama said, “等身大のような予感がするけれど、それはどこかしら。ちょっとワタクシたちが調べなくちゃいけないんじゃなくって。行きましょう、メイ・サン.” I wasn’t sure about her second sentence, haha.
Sakisama: “I have a hunch that it’s person-sized, but I wonder where it is. I’m not saying that we have to investigate. Let’s go, Mei-san.”
In Kamiyu and Billie’s comments, the only thing I wasn’t quite sure about was this line right at the beginning of Kamiyu’s: “ゆきは3回ポンポンってなってなかったと思うの.” I’m pretty sure she’s talking about the ref’s hand hitting the mat three times for the 3-count?
Kamifuku: “Hey… Um, I don’t think that was really a three-count. Matsui-san clearly just doesn’t like glamorous tall girls, so he counted a little fast.” (in English) “What do you think about the match?”
Billie: “I’m…”
Kamifuku: “I’m sorry.”
Billie: “It’s okay. I’m sad that we lost. I traveled thirteen hours on a plane just to lose. But I’m happy for us tagging, and us having a good time together.”
Kamifuku: “Aww, thank you. Ohio-mate!”
Kamifuku: (translating for Billie) “I’m sad that I spent thirteen hours getting here only to lose, but I was happy to tag with Yuki.”
Kamifuku: “…And with that, I was comforted by a girl who’s more than twelve years younger than me. I’m going to continue meshing well with people internationally, and keep living with gratitude. Thx.” (in English) “Thank you. Thank you, thank you. Let’s go to Ohio.”
I guess I also wasn’t quite sure how to translate Kamiyu’s “あざした” there at the end, so maybe “thx” wasn’t the best choice, but it was the first thing that came to mind, haha.
After that was Aja Kong vs Yuki Arai! This match ended up being a lot more tense than I sort of expected it to be. I guess I was expecting something a little more one-sided, but Aja really gave Arai a lot!
Aja’s comments afterward were, uh, long. Over six minutes, in fact. Somehow, they fit them all into one twitter video? I think the last chunk of it didn’t get transcribed on shupro’s site, though, so I don’t have a full translation.
Aja: “This is our first singles match, but we’ve fought twice in tag matches. So I thought I knew what she was capable of, especially since our last match was a month ago. Well, she said she was going to show her growth over a month, and she was able to fight me head-to-head without using any cheap tricks.”
This chunk had a lot of tricky things: “自分のもてるスペシャルなもの、Finallyをどれだけアジャコングに叩き込むかと。そういうことが彼女の選んだ道で。ある意味そこは正解だったかなと思いますけど、ただその彼女の作戦が…彼女がどう思ってたのかは分からないですけど、少なくても私にはそう捉えられたので。それが見えた時に、じゃあ食らおうが何をしようが、どうやって逃げて回復するかってことを瞬時に自分の中で考えられたので。どれだけ食らってても勝機は見えるなと思ってたので、それがうまくハマったなとは思いますけど.”
"How much could she hit me, Aja Kong, with that special thing she has, that Finally? That was the path she chose. In a sense, I think it was the right call, but her strategy… I don’t know what she thought, but she did catch me with it, even if just a little. When I saw that, in a flash she got me thinking about taking anything she might dish out, how I was going to escape and recover. I’d thought that no matter how much I took, I could still see a chance to win, so I think she got me good.
That said, there hasn’t really been anyone else who has taken the Finally from so many angles, has there? She was very tough after all. The one from the corner, and the one from the apron… those were a bit of a problem. Her aim was dead on. I really didn’t think she would come at me there, so I was a bit careless. I fought back outside the ring, so I thought, ‘well, it’s execution time after this,’ but I really didn’t think she’d approach. The referee was giving the count, so I thought that wasn’t good. But on the other hand, I was able to catch my breath. Well, in that situation, I knew when I entered the ring that she’d be angling for the Finally, so I’m glad that I was able to go after her. From there, I think I had control of the pace."
This sentence was tricky (particularly the “対等に”): “小細工って言ったら変ですけど、最初の時みたいにスリーパーとかいろんなことでかき回すようなことをしてくると思ったんですけど、対等に自分のもてるものでくるというのが今回の彼女の選択肢だったなと思うので.”
"It’s awkward to call them ‘cheap tricks’, but I thought she’d try to mix it up with various tricks like that sleeper hold she did at the beginning, but I think she chose this time to come at me with what she had as an equal.
I certainly didn’t expect to be pushed so hard. I don’t like the thought of this being the end, so I called out, ‘Hey, let’s do it again.’ I can’t predict what kind of strategy she’ll show up with next time, which makes her scarier. What kind of transformation will she undergo in the future after this? What kind of pro wrestler will she become? I guess it depends on that, but I’m even more scared of her in the future."
(At the end, what did you say to her?)
“‘Hey, let’s do it again.’”
This sentence was really confusing, haha: “もうちょっと圧勝できると思っていたので、圧勝で来てたら顔じゃねえよくらい言っとこうかなと思ったんですけど、あんだけ追い込まれたので.”
“I thought I could have won with more of a landslide victory, so I’m telling you now that if that happens, I won’t have this look. But that’s how hard she drove me. I won, but I’m not satisfied. I want to crush her to a pulp. The other side probably thinks I’m full of shit. So I think we’ll have different emotions if we do it again, and if we face each other again, I think I can do it. If it happens, I think it’ll unfold in a completely different way than today. I’ve been doing this for quite a long time, so I have a fair number of tactics I’ve come up with kicking around inside my head, but when I think about my next match with her, I can’t call any strategies to mind yet. Because I don’t know what she’ll come to me with.”
I think the first chunk of Arai’s comments went alright:
Arai: “Of course I want to win every match. I have always stood in the ring with that feeling, but today I’m extremely frustrated. I know there’s a huge gap between us. But even so, there were people who believed in me and thought I could win. So I really wanted to win in any way, but I felt yet again that that’s out of reach for where I’m at now. But at the end, Aja-san said, ‘Let’s do it again,’ so I really want to win next time. I don’t know when that will be, but I’ll definitely have grown more. I want to surprise Aja-san, and I want to surprise everyone who’s watching, too.”
(Have you undergone a mental shift after this match like you did after the first one?)
“It’s very strange… I still don’t exactly understand what has changed. It’s definitely a match that has moved me in some way.”
I wasn’t quite sure about her last two sentences: “それがいつか何だったかって分かるかもしれないし、いまはこれが変わりましたって言うのは言えないんですけど絶対に勝ちたいって思ったし。振り返った時にこの試合があったから…っていえる試合になったじゃないかなと.”
“I might understand what it was someday, and right now I can’t say that it changed me, but I definitely wanted to win. I think it’ll become a match where, looking back, I’ll be able to say, ‘Because I had this match…’”
Just like with Aja’s comments, I think there’s a chunk at the end that didn’t get transcribed, so this is all I have .
And that’s it for now! Just three matches left to go, but one of those is a One To Million match, haha, so I’m sure I have my work cut out for me there…