Finally finished translating the TPC final from August 13!
I really liked Kamiyu vs Miyu! I thought it was a great match; definitely one of my favorite singles matches from Kamiyu so far. She did so well in this tournament! I’m proud of her for making it this far, and for ruining so many people’s brackets, haha!
As I said in an earlier message, I don’t mind Miyu winning this year, since I do think she deserves to win at least once, and I like that it took tagging with Itoh to break her tournament curse. I’m looking forward to Miyu vs Mizuki, because their last PoP match in January 2022 was awesome.
Here’s the post-match:
Yamashita picks up the microphone as the audience chants “Yamashita!”.
Yamashita: “I did it!! It’s the 10th year, my 10th year. I finally won.” (The audience calls out “congratulations”) “I’m happy. I’m just so, so happy. I’m just soaking in the feeling of happiness right now, but I still have ambitions beyond this point. Mizuki! Where are you?”
Mizuki approaches the ring with her belt in hand.
Yamashita: “I won the tournament.”
Uh oh, here she is with the weird phrasing again: “この優勝は私にとって10年目の正直.”
“This victory is, for me, it’s been ten honest years. There was something in me that couldn’t win all this time, so I felt that I absolutely had to win, but more than that, I wanted to challenge Mizuki for the belt that she holds now. Starting from the moment Mizuki won that belt, I’ve been wanting to take it from her one day. I felt that I couldn’t stand in front of the champion Mizuki without having earned the right to do so, so I beat the champion, and now I’d like to issue a challenge for Mizuki’s belt with pride. Please let me challenge you.”
Mizuki: “Mii-chan. For thinking about me like that ever since I won the belt, you must really like me, huh? Usually I’d say absolutely no way would I ever do it again, but I’m really, really frustrated that I lost in the first round of the tournament. Thank you for winning this year. I think the path that you’ve walked in your pro wrestling life and the path that I’ve walked in mine are total opposites, but I really respect Mii-chan a lot, and I think my own path wasn’t wrong. Please face me, this person whom you love so much, with this belt on the line at the Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe.”
Yamashita: “Thank you very much.”
She asks for a handshake, but Mizuki shakes her head, then pulls down her eyelid and sticks out her tongue before leaving the ring.
Yamashita: “I’ve come this far.”
I was a bit confused by “10年越し” in this chunk. The big long sentence that follows was a bit tricky because it’s big and long, haha, though maybe I got it? "10年越しに取ったトーナメント、メチャクチャ嬉しいんでホント浸らせて下さい。取ったよ！ 10年間でいろんな東京女子の仲間も増えて、ライバルも増えて、ドンドンハードルも上がったけど、その強いライバル、仲間たちを倒して東京女子のトーナメントを優勝できたのは、私にとって本当に誇りだし、東京女子の中で優勝したというのは胸を張ってベルトにも挑戦できるし、これからも強く、私らしく、闘っていきたい
“I’m so happy that I won this tournament in the 10th year, so please let me marinate in that feeling. I did it! Over the past ten years, I’ve gotten more and more friends in TJPW, and more rivals, too. The bar has been rising steadily, and I’m so proud to have defeated such strong rivals and friends and won the TJPW tournament. Having won that tournament means that I can challenge for the belt with pride. I’ll continue to be strong and fight in my own style. Please watch TJPW, and please watch me. We’ll keep raising that bar, and even if it’s tough, even if it hurts, I will go over it. I won’t set limits. Thank you all for coming to this second show in a row. Limits! Don’t set them!”
As she receives a “Yamashita” chant from the audience, Yamashita bows and exits.
Here’s Miyu’s comments:
Yamashita: “I finally did it. In the tenth year… Well, for the time being, I want to compliment myself on having won this tournament after trying for ten years. ‘You worked hard and didn’t give up.’ But I’m switching focus soon. Mizuki named October, and there isn’t much time. I beat Mizuki in the first round, but in my mind, that match was a fluke. I want to get a solid win over Mizuki, and this tournament, it’s truly something I’ve been dwelling on for ten years, but, well, Mizuki’s belt is really alluring to me. I’ve talked to Mizuki a lot, and I can really feel the strength of her feelings toward TJPW. She’s awesome, even compared to the prior champions, which includes me. That’s why I’ve always had an image of Mizuki as a Princess of Princess champion.”
These sentences were a bit tough: “自分がチャンピオンの時でさえ、この人が持つベルトってすごく魅力的になるんだろうなって。実際持った時にすごく魅力的に感じて、だからこそ持った瞬間に絶対いつか挑戦したいって思って.”
"Even when I’m the champion, I think any belt that is held by someone like her is very alluring. I found it really alluring when she was holding it, and that’s why I knew the moment she held it that I was absolutely going to challenge for it someday. To that end, I didn’t think I could stand in front of Mizuki if I wasn’t in top form, so I’m really glad that I was able to conquer the tournament after ten years.
And Kamifuku. Since her debut, she has always stuck to winning with her own style, the way that she wants to fight. And as a result, she was able to make it all the way to the tournament final this time. Well, I’m sure it must be very frustrating for Kamifuku, but from my perspective, I thought she was truly amazing. I think she’s just going to get stronger and stronger from here. I’m really glad that I was able to face Kamifuku in the final, and defeating her and winning the trophy has given me a lot of strength. It was a really fun fight."
(After the tag team tournament, this was your second tournament victory this year)
I think I got this part, but thought I’d double check, haha. I assume she’s talking about the special skills field that shows up onscreen during shows/in the show pamphlets and such? “なので特技の欄をトーナメント制覇にします。特技みたいなもんでしょ？ ジャンル別で取れてますから。なので私の特技は今日からトーナメント制覇ってことになります.”
“So the special skills field will say ‘tournament mastery.’ That’s like a special skill, right? Because I won in different genres. So starting from today, my special skill will say ‘tournament mastery’.”
(About the fans’ cheers)
“Today there were also… of course there were people rooting for Kamifuku, but about as many people were supporting me as were supporting her. I could really hear their cheers. It was partially thanks to that that I was able to persevere, so once again, I think it was thanks to the fans. I think it is thanks to all of you that I have been able to keep pursuing this tournament victory so tenaciously up to this point. If the fans are happy with this result, that’ll make me happy, too.”
(How does it feel to hold the trophy in your hands for the first time?)
“It’s really heavy. I think it holds a lot in there… but it looks so cute. I think I’m going to sleep with it today.”
Here’s Kamiyu’s comments. As usual, she gives me trouble right away, haha. This chunk was a bit tricky: “いやぁ…気付いたら決勝にいて、ヤマピがきて。昨日の時点でヤマピがブロンズ像みたいだなって思ってて。ブロンズ像近づいてきて、とにかく自分の持ってる知恵を全部使ってね.”
Kamifuku: “Well… I found myself in the final, and Yama-pi was on her way. Just yesterday, I was thinking that Yama-pi was like a bronze statue. A bronze statue was coming near, and I’d just used up all the smarts I had. I really wanted to beat her. I haven’t been able to say it because it’s embarrassing, but I really wanted to work harder, and I felt that if I worked harder for others, maybe I’d be able to do it for me, too. It doesn’t have to be pro wrestling specifically, but I wanted to convey the idea that by continuing to do something, you can achieve something. In terms of winning, being the best, winning a belt, that sort of thing, I feel like I’m still too weak emotionally. I thought Yamashita-san was really amazing right from the start. From the first time I watched her matches… At first, to be honest, it was hilarious watching her dance to Genghis Khan, but in her matches, she was so cool. Over the past six years, I’ve seen so many different wrestlers. But for some reason, whether she had a belt or not, I’ve always thought of Miyu Yamashita as the strongest pro wrestler that I know.”
The “ポジティブな気持ち” in this line was a bit tricky to figure out how to translate: “その人に本気でかかってもらえたらよかったっていうポジティブな気持ちがあるのと.”
“I have a positive feeling that it’d be nice to be taken seriously by her.”
I think I was able to figure this out, maybe? “これマジで内緒なんですけど、試合終わった瞬間に世界のアジャコングから『頑張ったね』ってラインが来たので。その時点でやばくね？って。2日連続やばくね？ だってさ、アジャコングってミッキーみたいなもんじゃん。生まれた時から何か知らんけどみんな知ってるやん.”
“This is seriously confidential, but the moment the match ended, I received a LINE message from the worldly Aja Kong saying ‘You did your best’. At that point, I thought, ‘Isn’t this wild?’ ‘Two days in a row, isn’t it wild?’ Because Aja Kong is like Mickey. Somehow, everyone alive knows of her. I never thought the day would come when someone like that, someone who’s a badass in the pro wrestling world, would tell me I did my best. Well, anyway, let’s all keep doing our various things, and let’s do our best from tomorrow on. Cheers.”
That last thing she said was “おつかれちゃんです”, which is apparently a cutesy way of saying お疲れ様でした (get it? because it’s ちゃん instead of 様). I have a hard time translating that phrase even on the best of days, haha, so I was drawing a complete blank for how to convey that in English…
(Do you still feel like you’re not good with tournaments?)
“Yeah, that hasn’t changed. I don’t want to do this again. I’ll do my best because I have to do it.”
This sentence gave me trouble on the first pass, though maybe I got it on my second try: “でも別に進んでまた頑張って頑張って一番になりたいっていうのは…まだ心の準備ができてないなって思うので.”
“But being like ‘Do your best, do your best, I want to be number one!’… I don’t think I’m mentally prepared for that yet. There are more things that I haven’t done yet, like for example, my friend Maki Itoh has been going overseas a bunch, and Yamashita-san has been defending (the EVE Championship) a lot. I’ve been watching them have more and more matches with strong foes, so I’m going to experience that sort of thing and gain confidence.”
These lines were tricky: “自信をつけた時に初めて『やる』って言いますね。一生つかないかもしれないけど.”
“And when I do, I’m going to say ‘I’ll do it’ for the first time ever. Though it might not last the rest of my life.”
(Did you triumph over your haters?)
“Yes. Aren’t they also a bit surprised?”
These sentences were really tough. I had trouble with ワンチャン again, haha, and tried googling around to figure it out, but still didn’t really understand… “まぁ別に東京女子じゃなくてもいいんです。なんか、どんな仕事やっててもうぜえこと言われることあると思うんですけど、もうワンチャン自己満でよくね？っていう世界に入ってきて。なんか負けないでほしいですね。周りは周り、自分は自分。人生を面白くするのは自分次第なので。文句言われても、もうヤバくね？みたいな。別に家がなくても自分が楽しいと思えばそれでいいし。もう好きに生きたらいいよって思いました.”
“So, from here, current teenagers and trainees and such. Well, it doesn’t have to be TJPW. I think there are things that people will say no matter what kind of work you do, but maybe you’ve already entered a world where it’s just like ‘it’s okay to be self-satisfied, huh?’ I don’t want you to lose. Your surroundings are your surroundings, and you are you. It’s up to you to make your life interesting. I’m like, ‘even if people complain, it’s still wild, isn’t it?’ I thought, ‘Even if you don’t have a house, it’s alright as long as you’re having fun. You should just live how you want to.’”
(If you haven’t seen it before, here’s Miyu dancing to Genghis Khan. Our beloved ace has come a long way, haha.)
Mizuki: “I really hate fighting Mii-chan, but I lost to her in the first round of the tournament this year, so I’m grateful that she won. I feel that Miyu Yamashita is really strong when it counts. But I’ve come to have confidence in myself as well. In terms of winning or losing, I think it’s 50-50. So I’m going to face her head-on and do my best. I’m going to vanquish the monster.”
(In terms of title matches, in the past, you’ve challenged her and lost)
“Yes, I’ve lost. But I have won tournaments. Though, I really don’t know. When Mii-chan doesn’t want to lose, she gets really strong… I can see her strength just by looking at her.”
With this chunk, I wasn’t sure what she meant by “作品が違う”, though it sounds like maybe she’s talking about, like, a different genre of being? Like, Mizuki’s in Pretty Cure, and Miyu would be a monster in a different show. But I dunno. “ホントにバケモノ？ 作品が違う？ 人間？ みいちゃんは私のこと『めっちゃプリキュアみたいだね』ってわざわざお客さんが上げた写真を保存して私に送ってくるんですけど。みいちゃんはどっちかっていうと違う作品に出てる大きい強いバケモノ…？みたいなかんじなんですけど.”
“Is she truly a monster? A different type of work? A human? Mii-chan saves the photos that the audience members took the trouble to post, and she’ll send them to me saying, ‘You look like a Pretty Cure.’ It feels like Mii-chan is more like a big strong monster that shows up in a different kind of work? But I don’t want to lose.”
(Did you feel that she was a monster in today’s match?)
These sentences were tricky: “こういうとこーって思いながら、そういうところがホントに嫌だなって思うけど。そういうところを尊敬しているし、そうやってみいちゃんにしか分からない苦労がいままでの人生であって。でも私にしか分からない私の人生もあって.”
“Yes. While I was thinking about that, I thought, ‘that’s what I really hate.’ But I respect her, and I’ve experienced hardships in my life that only Mii-chan understands. But I also have things in my life that only I can understand. How should I put it… I respect Mii-chan, and Mii-chan loves me. I’m happy to be able to fight you with this belt on the line, and I want to fight you for it.”
And that’s it for that one!
Inspiration is next! Great show, but long comments, haha, so I’ll be behind for a bit longer, though at least the comments for the VOD aren’t too bad.