Finished translating TJPW’s November 26 show!
The first match with comments was Viva Van & Kamiyu vs Shoko & Kaya. I’d seen a tiny bit of Viva Van before, but hadn’t seen enough of her to really form a strong opinion of her as a wrestler. I thought she did fine!
Viva & Kamiyu’s comments were mostly in English.
Kamifuku: (in Japanese) “I just got back from Singapore, and I brought the very international VIVA-chan with me.”
I wasn’t exactly sure how to translate the 呼びやすい in this? And the rest was just kind of tricky, haha: “名前も呼びやすいし、ルックスもめっちゃビューティーなかんじで今日のタッグはすごく映えていたし。鳥喰さんをやっつけて、いいかんじにバンバンしたんじゃないですか？”
“Her name is easy to call, and with her mega beautiful looks, our tag team today was really attractive. She finished off Toribami-san and did it super fast and with great vibes.” (in English) “Right? How was the match?”
VIVA: (in English) “It was a great match. One win, one match, thank you Japan. It was a great time tagging with you, Yuki.”
Kamifuku: “Oh, thanks.”
VIVA: “You’re a great champion. And congratulations on winning the Queen of Asia belt. But I am also a queen. A queen of six crowns. And I’m on an Asia tour. And I’m looking to collect that title.”
Kamifuku: “Are you freaking serious?”
VIVA: “Yes. Because I’m VIVA VAN, the Hellbent Vixen, the belt collector, and soon to be the queen of seven crowns. You and me, December 1 at Korakuen Hall, what do you say, Yuki?”
Kamifuku: “Hmm, I don’t really like title matches, but sure. For you, because you’re beautiful. If you were ugly, I’d say no, but you’re beautiful, so…”
VIVA: “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
Kamifuku: “Yep. Can I speak in Japanese now to them?” (summarizing in Japanese) “First, she said that she’s also a queen of Asia, so she wants to challenge for this (belt), and I’d have turned her down if she was ugly, but she’s cute, so I said ‘sure.’ So with that, we’re having a title match at the December 1 Korakuen Hall. Alright!”
The last line was tricky: “…はい、温度差ありますが、うまいことやっていこうと思います.” I wasn’t exactly sure what she was referring to with 温度差.
“…Yes, there’s a difference in our levels of enthusiasm, but we’ll try to make it work.”
Shoko & Kaya’s comments:
Nakajima: “First match with VIVA VAN… ‘VIVA VAN’ is hard to say, isn’t it?”
Toribami: “‘Vi’… is it?”
Nakajima: “It’s hard to say.”
(I thought Shoko’s “VIVA VANって言いにくい” response was really funny after Kamiyu’s “名前も呼びやすい” comment, haha.)
The last chunk of this sentence was tricky: “今日は負けてしまったが、アイツの試合はたまたまYouTubeでルチャとかの動画を見てる時に出てきたことがあるから、きっとそっち系も得意に違いないと踏んでるんだけど.”
“We lost today, but I happened to see her matches when I was watching lucha and other stuff on YouTube, so I’m sure that she must have her own specialty. Today’s match ended before I knew it, so if there’s another one, our team is going to win next time. Right, bird?”
Toribami: “I’ll do my best!”
Nakajima: “The bird says she’ll do her best, too.”
I also waffled back and forth on whether I should translate Shoko referring to Kaya as “鳥” as “bird” or “Tori”. Because the transcript wrote it as “鳥” and not in kana (like how Mizuki’s shortened nickname for Miyu is usually spelled), I assumed that sort of part of the joke is that Shoko is just calling her “bird”. But I dunno, haha!
The next match was a preview match for the Max The Impaler & Pom vs Free WiFi tag title match. I don’t remember anything specific about the match, though it was fun seeing Pom and Max get the win, haha.
Pom & Max & Aino:
Pom: “YAAAAAAAAAAY! WE WON!!!” (saying it much quieter and more politely after hearing the Impaler growl) “…We won. Pom-chan is celebrating her 5th anniversary, and WOW, I might be on a roll. So I’m going to keep up this momentum, I HOPE!!! Huh? You didn’t hear me? YUKI-SAN!” (the Impaler growls, and Pom screams and hides behind the backdrop until they leave)
Pom & Aino: “…”
Aino: “…We did it!”
Pom: (laughs)
Hikari & Nao & Shino:
Hikari: “I have a big dog at home, and I think there’s a bit of a resemblance (to The Impaler) there in terms of unruliness. They want to make friends, but everyone is scared of them.”
Had weirdly a hard time translating that because I wasn’t sure what pronouns to use for Hikari’s dog… I went with “they”, but it might make it look like she’s talking about Max when I’m pretty sure that line was about her dog (though she does compare them, so maybe it doesn’t matter). I also couldn’t come up with a great way to phrase the last chunk of this, haha: “だからきっとマックスは私たちと仲良くなりたくて来てくれるんだけど、私たちは小型犬だからちょっと身構えちゃう.”
Kakuta: “We can’t get along. I was watching Pom-chan and Max’s title match with MagiRabbi, as preparation. And I saw their match with Nakajima-san the other day, too. I watched all that, but when we actually faced off, I felt all that power and force that can’t be conveyed in videos… Did you feel it?”
Shino: “Ah, I’m scared!”
Kakuta: “It’s a lot, huh?”
Nao’s line here was confusing: “だから先輩方はすごい頑張ってすげえって思ってたけど、ふりーWiFiはフリーダムなので、ちょっと普通には闘っていられないかなって思ってるので。フリーダムな作戦を立てて挑もうと思います.”
Kakuta: “It’s a lot, huh? So I thought our senpais were incredible and they were really working hard, but Free WiFi is totally free, so I was thinking I’d have to fight them a bit normally. I think I’ll face the challenge by using an unrestrained strategy. The signal wasn’t very good today…”
Shino’s response has I believe that アレ point that I’ve struggled with repeatedly, so I wasn’t quite sure about it, either 
. “ごめんなさい…。電波をアレするかんじで.”
Shino: “I’m sorry… The signal, I feel like that was on me.”
Kakuta: “You were doing your best.”
Shino: “Thank you very much. I believe in Free WiFi, and I’m rooting for you.”
Kakuta: “Ah, then you’ll second us?”
Shino: “Of course.”
Kakuta: “Then, let’s do our best on December 1!”
(Can you really tame them like a pet dog?)
Hikari: “Well, surely they love meat. And they’re weak right around here (the scruff of the neck).”
Kakuta: “I see. I wonder if that’ll work? But we never made contact there, that’s true. Should we try to get them from behind?”
Hikari: “Let’s do it!”
And finally, the main event! This was MagiRabbi vs Moka & Arai, and it was also MagiRabbi’s (possible) last match as a tag team… 
. I think out of all of the last set of MagiRabbi matches, this one was my least favorite, because Moka & Arai don’t have an existing past feud with MagiRabbi, but it was still a solid match!
Yuka confused me right away in the post-match, haha. She said, “へへへへ、やるやんけー！” I wasn’t sure how to translate that…
Sakazaki: “Hehehehe, you’re going to do it! Both of them have individually gotten a lot stronger, and that was seriously a close one. But MagiRabbi have teamed up, what, like 1000 times already?”
Mizuki: “Maybe this was the 1001st time.”
Sakazaki: “Which is to say, it’s the difference in experience. The two of you should try to find the perfect fit, someone you’re perfectly suited to, and gradually raise the level of your tag team more and more.” (the two of them stepped into the ring, and she said to Arai) “You showed a lot of spirit, but after the match, you were so weak and exhausted.”
Arai: “You too, Yuka-san. But Yuka-san… you’re graduating, huh? I’m going to miss you. I lost today, but our next chance to fight will be at Korakuen… I want to show more strength than I showed today. Absorbing what I did today, I’m glad we were able to fight.”
Both: “Thank you so much!”
I wasn’t quite sure what was going on with the おって in the middle of this: “一緒に締めよ。おって。ちょっとマジラビなんで最後はハピハピなんですが、いいですか？”
Sakazaki: “Let’s close together. In a bit. It’s MagiRabbi, so it’s HAPPY HAPPY at the end, okay?”
I think I got this, maybe, but since it’s important, I thought it’d be worth double-checking: “今日は実は、知ってるとは思いますがマジラビ最後ということではあるんですが、ちょっと未来のことは分からないので。期待はしつつ、今日は別れを告げたいと思います。みずきー、いままでありがとう。これからも東女のメンバー…また違う子と組むとは思うけど、うちのこと忘れんとってな.”
“Today is actually, I think everyone knows, but it’s the last MagiRabbi match. The future is a bit up in the air. I have hope, but I’d like to say goodbye today. Mizuki, thank you for everything up to now. As you continue on as a member of TJPW… I’m sure you’ll be teaming up with other girls, but don’t forget about me.”
Mizuki: (tearfully) “There are still… two more times. I’m going to leave reality behind today, and choose to believe that there will be a bonus track.”
These lines were also a bit tricky:
坂崎「ハハハ。今日は無理やろうな！」
Sakazaki: “Hahaha. I’m forcing you to do it today!”
瑞希「今日は闘いたくないけど、信じて。私はまだ、いまから辛くなると辛いままだから…。今日は元気に、でもずっとありがとうって思ってるよ」
Mizuki: “I don’t want to fight today, believe me. For me it’s still, it’ll be painful in the future, and it’s painful as it stands… Today I’m alright, but thank you for everything.”
Sakazaki: “I’m sorry.” (patting Mizuki) “Thank you. Then, we’ll close with our favorite hamburger steak, so everyone, please keep being HAPPY HAPPY.”
They closed the Nagoya show with their usual: “Eat hamburger steak!” and “HAPPY HAPPY!”
MagiRabbi’s comments:
Sakazaki: “That was fun!”
Mizuki: “Yeah! Nagoya!”
I had a bit of trouble with the 信じて in this and in Mizuki’s next line: “東京で来れなかった人たちはちょっと寂しい思いをさせてしまったかもしれないけど、終わりじゃないと信じて.” I think with those comments and the hand-holding (which, incidentally, shupro did not mention in their transcript, which I thought was an odd choice) and all of that, they’re trying to sort of make a promise/will into existence the continued existence of their tag team?
Sakazaki: “I might’ve made the people who can’t come to Tokyo a bit sad, but trust us, it’s not the end.” (she holds out her hand and Mizuki takes it)
Mizuki: “Trust us.” (they hold up their clasped hands for the rest of the interview)
Sakazaki: “For the time being, this was my last match (as MagiRabbi and in Nagoya) as a TJPW member. Thank you.”
Mizuki: “But we’re going to be together in the 5-women tag on December 1.”
Sakazaki: “But Mii (Yamashita) and such will be there.”
Mizuki: “Mii-chan is a bit of a nuisance.”
Sakazaki: “Hey, let’s get her out of the way.”
Mizuki: “Let’s do it.”
(You closed a show as MagiRabbi for the first time in a while)
“Yeah. Hamburger steak.”
Mizuki: “It’s been a while.”
This was tricky: “ずっと一緒にいるから…（涙をこらえ）あ、やばいわ.”
“We’ve always been together…” (holding back tears) “Ah, it’s too much.”
Sakazaki: “I’ll do the talking.”
This part was similarly tricky: “一緒におるから、マジラビじゃないってタイミングが少なくて.”
“Since we’ve been together, there hasn’t been much time where I haven’t been part of MagiRabbi. But come to think of it, it has been a while since I’ve had hamburger steak. Let’s go eat some.”
Mizuki: “Yeah!”
(About your opponents)
Sakazaki: “I think Moka and Arai-chan teamed up a lot around when they got started, but I think they’re each still searching for a tag team that fits them perfectly. I really felt a fresh sense of how much stronger they’re getting on an individual level.”
These lines were both tricky, haha: “あとはパートナーが見つかればしっくりくる。連係とかも思いついたり、きゃっきゃしてればまた東女のタッグが面白いようになるんじゃないかなと思います.”
“Now if they can just find a partner, things’ll feel right. I think if they can find a relationship where they’re giggling and having fun together, TJPW’s tag team scene will get more interesting.”
(There are two shows left)
“It didn’t feel real until now. When I realized that today was the end… It really hit me when we were closing the show.”
Mizuki: “…It’s like, I roughly understand that today is the last time, right? But I avert my eyes away from things that I can’t avoid, so I tried not to think about this being the last time. I went about it like everything was normal so that I wouldn’t let those feelings show, but I think the fact that we were able to have a typical MagiRabbi match was thanks to Arai-chan’s and Moka-chan’s growth. I’m really happy about that. But I don’t want to think of it as the end, so I’m going to keep looking away from it from here.”
Sakazaki: “We’ll keep looking away.” (laughs)
Me too, Mizuki .
Moka & Arai:
Miyamoto: “It was our last time facing MagiRabbi. They were strong, and I thought the bond between the two of them was wonderful. But I’ll still be able to fight Yuka-san in one more match. I enjoyed the match with Yuka-san, and I enjoyed today. There’s just one match left, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Arai: “I’ve taken the opportunity to fight Yuka-san for granted, so it still hasn’t sunk in yet. I put everything I had into the match today, but after it was over, I suddenly thought, ‘Just one more left…’”
The middle part of this was a bit tricky: “やっぱり先輩はいつまでもこうやっていてくれるって勝手に思っちゃうからそこに甘えてしまうんですけど、あんまりこういう卒業とか引退とかがあると…もっといまを大事にしなきゃって.”
“I’ve always selfishly thought that my senpais will be there forever, so I’ve been spoiled by that, but with all these graduations and retirements… I feel like I have to cherish the present more. I feel even more strongly now that I have to surpass my senpais. So of course I want to catch up to Yuka-san, and I felt a renewed desire for my generation to gain more and more ground on all of our senpais.”
(Even though it was in Nagoya, it wasn’t treated as a hometown return show for you)
“I’ve teamed up and fought against Moka-san loads of times in Nagoya, and today was our first time teaming in a long time. I had the power of being in Nagoya and Moka-san’s power, and I think I was able to put out my best effort.”
(Sakazaki talked about the importance of choosing a partner)
“Looking at the two of them, it often makes me realize just how good tag teams are.”
The last bit of this was tricky: “年明けからタッグのトーナメントもあるということで…自分も最近タッグパートナーがいなくなったからすごい響いたし.”
“There’s also the tag team tournament at the beginning of the year… I recently lost my tag partner, so it really affected me. I don’t know if I’ll be able to find a tag team like theirs in the future. I don’t know who it’ll be with; maybe with Moka-san, maybe someone else. I hope I can form a tag team with a strong bond.”
(Do you want to become a strong tag team with Juria?)
Miyamoto: “Yes, I do.”
I did laugh a bit at Yuka sort of no-selling Moka and Juria’s tag team, HAHA.
I’m curious about whoever Arai is going to tag with next…
And with that, I’m finally done translating the November shows! Though December has had a lot going on just in the first two weeks or so . They’re keeping me busy, that’s for sure!
here are the minor things I’d mention with my pro-wrestling translation helping hat on.
and even though it seems like nitpicking these kinds of distinctions I think are really interesting and valuable for learning !!
. Though part of it was that I like both Chris and Ueno, so I was fine with however that one went (though the result surprised me). The match was fine, but I can’t say I remember it well enough to write about it specifically, so I’ll probably just fold it into my overall show review once I get around to journaling about it…
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