The 🤼 プロレス thread! Learning Japanese through pro wrestling

A lot of interesting interviews in this one, but I bet you all were most dying to know what’s Mahiro’s favorite yaku in mahjong.

週刊プロレス No.2240 (from April 2023)

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Don’t mind if I do!!

Asked what her favorite yaku is, Kiryu says there’s yakuman and all, but at the end of the day it’s gotta be pinfu, which the columnist calls a Kiryu-ish choice. (Translation for non-mahjong-knowers, yaku are combinations that give you points at the end of a hand, and yakuman are flashy ones that give lots of points, but the one Kiryu picked rewards good sensible non-flashy play by having to avoid anything at all remarkable).

Thank you for the much-needed translation, hahaha

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Finished translating the December 1 TJPW 10th anniversary Korakuen show! Technically finished it yesterday, but have been a bit busier with the holidays and all. (No rush helping with it!)

First match with comments, the finals of the Next Generation tournament! I was pulling for Himawari in this, though I like Wakana well enough, I was happy for her getting the win, too!

Wakana:

Uehara: “Somehow, I managed to win the Next Generation Tournament '23! And this medal also says right here that I won, so in any case I’m super happy right now.”

This sentence confused me a lot: “でもやっぱりプロレスデビューしたのが1月4日で、そこから1年経たないうちにこうやってトーナメントさせていただける機会が本当にないので、本当の、2回目のトーナメント優勝は私にとっても本当に自分のなかで大切な宝物というか.” I was thrown off by 2回目のトーナメント until I remembered that maybe she’s counting winning the Yume Pro Wrestling thing?

"After all, I made my pro wrestling debut on January 4, and getting to participate in a tournament like this less than a year later, you really don’t get these kinds of opportunities, so winning my second tournament is a real treasure for me. It’s really one of the biggest things in my life. But even though I’m proud of it, I still feel that my senpais are a very high wall, and those in my class have also shown great growth, and I’ve been watching them grow with incredible momentum, so I want to aim for the top while competing with each other so that I won’t lose from here on out. Everyone, thank you so much for your support.”

(Now that you’ve earned this achievement, is there a senpai that you would like to fight?)

“Shoko Nakajima, whom I’ve admired more than anyone since before my Yume Pro Wrestling debut. I was able to face her in a singles match right after my debut, but since then we haven’t fought at all, so I’d be really happy if I could get the chance to face Shoko Nakajima again and show her how much I’ve grown.”

Himawari:

HIMAWARI: (crying) “I still… I’m so disappointed that I once again failed to beat her. I fought Haru in the first round, then Shino-san, and the two people that I beat were seconding me today, cheering me on with ‘ganbare!’ And even though the fans were also rooting for me, I ended up losing. It’s frustrating. I’m worthless. It’s been almost a year since February already, and I still haven’t worked hard enough. Next time, I’ll get my revenge, so please watch. I’ll do my best.”

The next match was Kamiyu vs Viva Van, which I honestly really enjoyed! I thought they had great chemistry. Also, the Queen of Asia belt really matches Kamiyu’s gear, so I’m happy she retained it, haha.

Viva’s comments were in English!

VIVA: “That was a hard-hitting match. It was everything that I could have dreamt of for my debut at Korakuen Hall.”

(So, how was [???])

“She was a very strong competitor. She ended up on top at the end. I have much respect for the Queen of Asia. Thank you for the opportunity. I would love to do it again.

(How was your first tour in Japan, and touring with Tokyo Joshi?)

“My first tour is an honor because for a very long time I thought I would never make it over here, so it’s definitely a dream come true for me, and I’m very honored. Thank you for having me be a part of the 10-year anniversary. It means so much to me.”

I could not for the life of me catch that question from Mr. Haku, though :weary:. Too much background noise… It wasn’t in the transcript, either, so that was no help.

Then Kamiyu’s comments were… hoo boy… lots of difficult stuff here :sweat_smile:.

This sentence was a bit tricky: “シンガポールでベルトを取って無事に日本に帰ってきて、初めての防衛戦を、このクイーン・オブ・アジアっていうタイトルに相応しいって言っても本当に相応しいVIVAちゃんが挑戦してくれて、すごい雰囲気も、THE・アジアンビューティーという感じで見習いたいとことかたくさんあって.”

Kamifuku: “I won the belt in Singapore and safely made it back to Japan. For my first defense, I said that VIVA-chan suited a title named ‘Queen of Asia’, and the truly worthy VIVA-chan challenged me for it. It was an amazing atmosphere, and there are so many things I want to learn from The Asian Beauty.”

I think this next chunk seriously took me over an hour of research: “もちろん試合もなんかすごいチョチョチョチョって走る感じとかめっちゃいいなと思ったし、化粧とかも、また藤沢のスナックのママにまつ毛の長さは女の気高さに値するって言われたから、あの人まつ毛何センチあるのかな?すっごい長くて、でもやっぱ絶対プロレス的にはやりづらいのに、ビューティーにこだわってまつ毛バシッとつけて、メイクもね絶対めんどくさいのに、あんなにいっぱいやって尊敬できるとこいっぱいなんで.”

“Of course I thought the match was really good with the way she ran around in there, and her makeup, too, and also since I heard from the proprietress of a snack bar in Fujisawa that the length of a woman’s eyelashes is the measure of her nobility, how many centimeters are her eyelashes? They’re really long. Even though it’s totally hard to do it the way pro wrestling is, she’s very particular about her beauty and slaps on those eyelashes and does her makeup even though it’s a pain in the ass, and I can really respect that she does so much.”

The first thing that tripped me up here was: “チョチョチョチョ”. I tried searching for that onomatopoeia, but didn’t have much luck. Tried looking it up in my dictionary, but it wasn’t there. I asked the WK film club server about it, thinking that someone there surely would’ve seen it before and could help me understand it, but no one there knew, either.

So I ended up asking Akira about it! Here’s what they said:

Maybe, Yuki wanted to say “She run around” or “she run fastly.” For example, “チョチョチョチョ” means the following image.

チョチョチョチョ is the onomatopoeia that indicates kind of moving one’s feet quickly

That helped a lot! Especially watching the gif. I’m still not 100% on my translation choice, but it’s passable, I think. The next part that threw me off was the “藤沢のスナックのママ”, though someone in the WK film club server helped a bit with that, as I was unfamiliar with snack bars, and ママ in the context of that setting.

The rest of it I think I more or less got? I dunno.

The next chunk was also tricky :weary:: “なんかいつかこう3人組のアジアのベルトみたいな、アジアのチャーリーズエンジェル的なのがアジアバージョンの良い感じのベルトとかあったら、ゆきとVIVAちゃんともう1人誰か。やったりとかしたいし、すごい性格の良い子だったんで。もっといろんなこと高め合って、また違うアジアの国でぜひ再会したいなあって思ったり思わなかったりしてます.”

“If there’s like some kind of 3-person Asia belt someday, like an Asian Charlie’s Angels type of Asia-version good vibes belt, I’d want to go for that with VIVA-chan and one more person. She was an amazing girl with a great personality. I both want and don’t want us to mutually enhance each other more and meet again in a different country in Asia.”

(Are you going to defend this belt elsewhere in Asia?)

“I’d like to.”

This was a bit tricky, especially since I don’t want to translate her as saying something that’s more rude than what she’s actually saying…: “フィリピンとかタイとかいろいろあるんですけど、タイいった時に女の子が1人所属してて、めちゃくちゃダサかったんですよ、雰囲気が。なんか化粧とかチョーテキトーだったんで、それを私が持ってる間はきれいなおかつ、アジアンないいヤツと試合していきたいと思ってるんで。女度とアジア度上げていきたいと思います.”

“There are places like the Philippines and Thailand, but when I went to Thailand, there was just one girl with the promotion, and she was super uncool, that atmosphere. Her makeup was really sloppy, and while I’m holding this beautiful thing, I want to have matches with nice, beautiful Asian girls. I’d like to raise my femininity and also my Asian power.”

I think I know the wrestler she’s talking about, and said wrestler is fairly active on twitter in the wrestling fandom, so there’s a chance the translation could get back to her… :sweat_smile::skull:

Every time I think I’m starting to maybe get somewhere with this whole Japanese language thing, Kamiyu shows up and keeps me humble :smiling_face_with_tear:.

After that was the tag title match! I loved this one! Great performance from both teams, though I was #PomPaler all the way :triumph:. I thought Hikari in particular had some great exchanges with Max; I loved the one where she dodged Max’s lariat with a super deep bridge. One day it’ll be Pom and Max’s day…

Free WiFi’s comments:

Kakuta: “I didn’t want to lose… I never want to let go of them.”

I had trouble with the 喝 in this, though I think I might’ve figured it out with some of the later context? “でも、今日のヒカリちゃんがカッコよすぎて、私はこの子の喝があればいくらでも勝てると思いました.”

“But Hikari-chan was so cool today, I thought with her encouragement, I could win anything. Thank you.”

Hikari: “We only had one preview for this title match. Really, I was scared up until the very last minute of the match… I wanted to be the kind of partner who could lead the way in that kind of situation.”

This was a bit tricky: “怖い存在とか怖いものは1人で抱えないで、2人でどんどんぶち壊していきたいなって思ったし.”

“Scary creatures and scary things that you can’t bear on your own, I want the two of us to destroy them. Today, I think the value of these belts, which Nao-san protected for us, has grown so much that I’m no longer afraid of anyone who steps forward to challenge us for them. So the next time I want someone to challenge us by saying, 'I want Free WiFi.’ We’ll be in America too for a bit. I want to show off the belts even more as Free WiFi.”

Kakuta: “I want to show off TJPW’s Free WiFi overseas, too.”

Hikari: “WiFi is worldwide. Also, Nao-san, I heard that you’re able to see the radio signal.”

Kakuta: “I can now. I thought the radio waves that were floating around Max at yesterday’s press conference weren’t good. I have a clear picture of it.”

Hikari: “Let’s see even more from here.”

(Do you want to defend the belts in America?)

“Of course.”

This was tricky: “むこうがどうなのか。でもジャナイは(ヒカリと)やってるし、もう日本でおなじみの顔みたいになってるし。むこうがやるなら是非ってかんじで、向こうでも王者を見せつけたいなと思います.” I struggled a lot with the 向こう’s in this.

Kakuta: “How about our opponents? But Janai has tagged (with Hikari), and she’s already a familiar face in Japan. If our opponents are down for it, then I’d like to show the champions to the other side of the world, too.”

(How was PomPaler’s teamwork?)

“After the title match was set, I spent a fair amount of time watching their other matches as a reference, and I thought… has the bond between the two of them gradually deepened? They’re gradually showing more and more of the uncharted territory that is their tag team.”

This was also a bit hard: “パワーは絶対勝てないから、あとはこっちの意地と根性と…こうやって喝を入れてもらって鼓舞できるっていうのがどれだけあるかってかんじじゃない?って思いました.”

“I can never win in terms of power, so all that we can do is have willpower and guts… ‘How much inspiration can I take from receiving your encouragement?’ That’s what I was thinking.”

Hikari: “I don’t want to fight them anymore.”

Kakuta: “It’s ‘sayonara’ for now.”

Hikari: “They seem to get stronger as time passes, so let’s not lose and get stronger, too.”

(What kind of radio waves were in the air at Korakuen today?)

Kakuta: “Something nice and warm… reds, warm colors. The colors of a good, strong signal. It’s like being wrapped up in an aura. It’s a nice color.”

Hikari: “Is it in the air here, too?”

Kakuta: “Well… Shupro’s radio waves are a bit off.”

Hikari: “They’re not good. …Brown?”

Kakuta: “So next time, if the signal is good, we can do ‘BIBIBI’ together.”

Hikari: “We’ll get them to put more WiFi (in the magazine)…”

Kakuta: “That’s right!”

I laughed at them singling out shupro, haha. And hey, the threat seems to have worked out! They made it onto the cover!

PomPaler’s comments:

Pom: “I lost, huh? It’s Pom’s fault again… Ah… It was our second time challenging. But I didn’t get the belt. I couldn’t win it, but there’s one thing I gathered. I feel like I get along better with Max than I did before. The two of us, we’re forever friends. Right?” (Impaler growls) “They’re saying ‘yes.’ It’s a belt that I surely wouldn’t have challenged for on my own, so I’m glad that I was able to challenge for it with Max. Right? …It’s frustrating.”

Impaler: (growling) “…Free WiFi.” (roars and storms off backstage)

And finally the main event, the big 5 vs 5 two out of three falls match that we talked about a bit already! I loved this match a lot! Going into it, I was really hoping that Miu would get her chance to pin Yuka finally, but they ended up going a totally different direction with it. Arisu was the one person on the younger generation team to score any falls, and Miu instead took the final fall and lost the match for their team.

I really love the Miu vs Miyu matchup, and that ending stretch felt so exciting to me, especially the way that you could kind of physically see how Miyu had managed to somehow level up yet again in between her 2022 Tokyo Princess Cup match with Miu and this one. Whatever weakness Miu had somehow found to break through Miyu to reach the finals in 2022, that weakness was gone now. Now Miu has to work even harder to claw her way back up in order to reach Miyu at her new level.

So the older generation still stands victorious at the top for a little longer, though the score has gone from 0-2 to 1-2, so the younger generation is starting to gain some ground…

Here’s the post-match:

Yamashita: “We won! But they were really strong at the end. Right, Nakajima?”

Nakajima: “…They got one fall from me.”

Sakazaki: “But that got you fired up.”

Nakajima: “Yes, it did. Well, thank you. The five of us on a team like this, this might be the last time we’ll be able to team up, but… It was awesome.”

Tatsumi: “Don’t say that it’s the last time! For the 10th anniversary, getting to have a match with these wonderful members of our roster…” (to the team at the blue corner) “Amazing, you can really go. Thank you.”

Mizuki: “Well, with everyone, and with Yuka-chi… I’m glad I was able to meet you all here. Thank you! Thank you so much.”

Sakazaki: “I’m glad we were able to have this match, thank you.”

Yamashita: “Today is… the 10th anniversary of TJPW! That being the case, I’d like everyone who had a match today to come up into the ring. Can you do that for me? Come on up!” (all participants, including the Impaler, gather) “So, today TJPW is celebrating our 10th anniversary, and we’re entering our 11th year. We’ve gained so many new friends, and we’ll continue to have a lot more debuts to liven up TJPW even more. We’ll keep doing our best to entertain everyone who came to see us today, and all the fans who say that they love TJPW. Please keep supporting us! Now that everyone is here, let’s form a circle.”

Everyone got into a circle in the ring, and Yamashita shouted, “Let’s make TJPW exciting!” And everyone cheered and raised their hands in solidarity. Afterward, following the group photo, Sakazaki took the mic and said, “Thank you so much for all of your support over the past 10 years! Please look forward to the future of TJPW!” At the end, everyone shouted, “Thank you very much!” then exited the ring.

Older generation’s comments:

This was a bit tricky: “最後は私が未詩から取りましたけど、10人タッグマッチでこのカードが組まれた時にどういう意味なんだろうって…単純に上の世代と下の世代って見られるのかなって思ったんですけど.”

Yamashita: “I won the last pinfall from Miu. When this match was put together, I wondered what it meant… I thought it would be seen as the older generation vs the younger generation. Even though I won, I felt that she’s getting incredibly strong. But I persevered, and in the end I kicked her down. It made me think that I want to get even stronger from here. I felt so happy that the five of us were able to team up for this occasion.”

Tatsumi: (interrupting) “Are you just gonna go on and on all by yourself?”

Nakajima: “Are you gonna cry?”

Tatsumi: “It’s long.”

Yamashita: (smiles) “But I’m glad we were able to team up. We’re going our separate ways…”

Nakajima: “You’re going to cry, huh.”

Yamashita: “Yuka-chan is graduating, but even when we’re not in the same place, our feelings will always be connected. Thank you so much.”

Nakajima: “If one of us cries, it’ll start (to spread). It’ll be like kindergarten.”

Yamashita: “When you’re moved to tears, you should let yourself cry! Don’t hold back!”

Nakajima: “Well, ten years passed in the blink of an eye.”

Sakazaki: “Too fast!”

Shoko’s comment here was a bit tricky: “さっきちょっとだけ喋ったんですけど、1人卒業するみたいな…あっという間で。学校生活の3年間が終わってみればあっという間みたいな、そんな気持ちを感じますね。でも今日はアニバーサリーだから、この5人で絶対に勝ってやるぞって気持ちでね。もうね、私が言えたことじゃねえけど! 有栖は許さねえから、次は私が取り返してやるって、かかってこいやって気持ちです.”

Nakajima: “We just talked about this, but one of us graduating… it happened so fast. It’s like when three years of school are over in the blink of an eye, that’s how fast it feels. But today is our anniversary, so the five of us felt that we absolutely had to win. I know it’s not for me to say, but Arisu, I won’t let you get away with it! I’ll get payback next time, so bring it on! I’m so glad that we were able to team up today.”

Mizuki: “To be tied to everyone who has been here for ten years, since the very beginning…” (cries) “I truly felt that I’m a part of this group. I thought it was a strange matchup, but since we’ve been working together for so long, I feel like I am also a part of TJPW’s history. Of course, the same goes for all of my opponents and everyone who will be joining us in the future. I am truly, truly grateful to have met you all. Thank you very much…” (cries)

Tatsumi: “(Mizuki) transferred here part of the way in, but I feel like we’ve already been together for like ten years.”

Nakajima: “You’ve been together, huh?”

I think with that last part, the joke is Rika’s crush on Mizuki?

I couldn’t figure out what to do with Miyu’s response here, though: “瑞希だけだよ、その(ネガティブな)気持ちなの.”

Yamashita: “It’s just Mizuki, that (negative) feeling.”

Tatsumi: “I’m glad we were able to make it to the 10th anniversary. I’m glad we were able to keep going. I’m glad I was able to find TJPW. …I’m not crying.”

Sakazaki: “I truly don’t know what kind of chance meeting it was, all of us coming together like this, and joining because we love TJPW. And as we’ve gained more and more powerful friends, the audience in turn has grown to like TJPW more and more. I really hope this space we’ve created lasts a lifetime. …I’ll be watching over you all from afar.”

Nakajima: “Don’t go!”

Sakazaki: “The future is bright. I’m glad.”

Younger generation’s comments:

Miu: “Today is the 10th anniversary, and we had a 10-women tag match… I faced my senpais who have been wrestling for ten years, but in the end I lost. My senpais were strong, and I was no match for them after all. But Arisu scored the first fall… Thank you. You did a great job!”

Endo: “I was surprised, too. It happened so quickly, I didn’t realize what had happened. But I’m happy I was able to contribute something.”

Arai: “You all have built up TJPW from scratch over the past ten years, and I’ve only been involved for about two years… But I’m so glad that I found TJPW. I am happy that I was able to meet my senpais who were my opponents today, of course, but also my friends whom I can call close (in career and age), whom I’m able to work hard with together so that we can all improve. Today, I realized anew that I want to work hard so that I can surpass them someday.”

Suzume: “Since I encountered pro wrestling, since I encountered TJPW, they’ve been active at the top. And even before that, they’ve been continuing to build TJPW. Since they’ve been making TJPW shine so brightly, they’ve drawn me along with everyone else to come to this place. They truly are so dazzling, too dazzling, but because people like that are here, we all walk toward them. Even though they shine so brightly, I felt a renewed desire to run after them without looking away.”

Miyamoto: “As expected, the seniors of TJPW who have been building up the promotion for ten long years are really strong and we couldn’t compete. I want to catch up to them. We might still have a long way to go from where we are now, but the five of us are going to grow even more from here. I want to get closer and closer to them so that we can become senpais like them, too.”

Miu: “If it weren’t for the people who built up TJPW over the past ten years, the four members from the early days and Mizuki-san, we wouldn’t have the wonderful TJPW that we have now. It is precisely because it is such a warm place where you can grow with peace of mind that we are able to grow so quickly. And after ten years, what’s scary is… the fact that our senpais have continued to grow the whole time. Since they keep moving forward, I really want us to catch up with them, and for us to also be members who accelerate TJPW’s growth.”

This was a bit tricky: “それをしてもなかなか追いつけなくて、こうやって今日も大チャンスだったけど…”

“Even if we do that, it’s hard to catch up, and today was another big chance for us, but… Even though it didn’t work out today, I want to be as strong as my senpais are someday. This might’ve been the last time I could fight Yuka-san, but I’d like to face her again someday. From here, as we enter our 11th year, I want to work even harder as a member of TJPW.”

And that’s it for that one!

I am still four shows behind, but at least these ones are much shorter (except for Yuka’s graduation, though at least it’s not a Korakuen-length one). Gonna try to get as much of it done as possible before イッテンヨン!

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I think it might just be a transcription error - in the video it sounds to me like she says 一回目 but with not much enunciation on the いっ part so it ends up sounding like かいめ in a way that could be easily mistaken for にかいめ.

I think then with this phrasing it probably then is referring to this being the first ねくじぇねトーナメント held, rather than it being her first tournament win.

“So, how was your opponent Kamifuku today?”

For THE・アジアンビューティー, I don’t think that’s a nickname of Viva, I would say it’s more likely like – Kamifuku is calling her like, a quintessential Asian beauty.

I would also say the って言っても isn’t directly referring to Kamifuku having said something it in the past, it’s an expression for like, ‘although one might say,’ ‘although I might say’ that kind of thing. And here she’s using it to emphasize that her praise of Viva fitting the belt isn’t just talk, she might say Viva’s perfect for the championship, but it’s not hyperbole, she really is and showed it in the match.

Also - this is definitely nitpicky but I’m bugged a little bit by the loss of the て chain structure making the first sentence in the translation a little bit of a non-sequitur. I would maybe tweak it to something like “Having won the belt in Singapore and safely making it back to Japan…” Or I suppose just swapping out the period for a run-on ‘and’ would preserve the feel of the て chain.

Yeah I think this is the kind of onomatopoeia where the video with her saying it and the gesture is going to be much more directly helpful than the transcript! She mimes with her hand running back and forth
image
image
image

and you can imagine the same thing in English of someone being like “they was all * gestures * * noise of something whipping or scurrying back and forth *.”
Which explains the difficulty in looking it up, and even a native speaker who understood the meaning not saying it very affirmatively - it’s more of a transcript’s attempt at capturing an impromptu onomatopoeia here than like, a literary onomatopoeia.

Nitpicky but I think “If there’s like… someday” would read more smoothly as “Sometime, if there were like”. To over-explain why I was picking up a difference, I think maybe the slight difference I’m picking up on between those two is the weight put on the conditional idea of that belt - and I’d say that here she’s saying like “sometime I’d like to tag with Viva and (this) is the kind of thing that would rule for that” whereas the translation here reads a little bit more like “if there were this belt someday, I would then want to tag with her” where those なんかs and やったりとかs suggest it’s more of a vague idea of the sort of thing she’d like to do to me. In fact come to think of it the やったりとかしたいし could maybe come in as like, “That’s the kind of thing I’d like to do.”

For
アジアのチャーリーズエンジェル的なのがアジアバージョンの良い感じのベルト
I don’t think
“Asian Charlie’s Angels type of Asia-version good vibes belt”
quite works.
I would say it’s made awkward to render perfectly since Kamifuku herself is redundant with the アジアの and アジアバージョンの –
Oh actually I just rewatched the video and the redundancy is a transcription mistake since she cut herself off. She starts saying “アジアのビューティー” and then cuts herself off with チャーリーズエンジェル的なのがアジアバージョン. So the redundancy can be removed here.
I would also say 良い感じ is less “good vibes” and more like – it feels good, it fits. Like if you adjusted some furniture in a room or made a tweak to a painting, and liked the result, you might say いい感じ.
From weblio:

好ましい印象を受けるさま、よい雰囲気が出ているさま。肯定的に評価できるさまについて広く用いられる表現。

So, I would go with something like:
“like a cool Asian Charlie’s Angels kind of belt”
“like a belt that says ‘Charlie’s Angels: Asia Edition!’”
that kind of thing.

Haha the transcript’s trying to get you in trouble by making it extra rude!
For なんか化粧とかチョーテキトーだったんで I definitely hear in the video なんか化粧とかなんかちょっと適当だったんで
I’m 90% sure the transcriber just accidentally dropped a consonant, making ちょっと適当 into チョーテキトー, making the criticism way harsher than it was.
I’d say she’s just saying that the wrestler wasn’t, you know, the kind of glamorous type Kamifuku is into.

Also:
I would change
“and she was super uncool, that atmosphere”
to
“and her vibe was super unglamorous”
The late 、雰囲気が swaps in as the subject of the sentence and the structure shouldn’t be preserved in English. And I do think she’s talking about the wrestler’s 雰囲気 based on how she continues the thought in the next sentence. And that would be then like, her vibe, her aura, the impression she gives that kind of thing.
And I tweaked uncool to unglamorous here just since I would say that when it comes to pro wrestlers there’s different kind of ‘cool’, and to Kamifuku, the opposite of ダサい wouldn’t be かっこいい, you know? It would be like, ビューティー.

For
女度とアジア度上げていきたいと思います
I would maybe tweak it to “I’d like to raise the bar in both femininity and Asianness” since I feel like she’s talking mainly about the belt here rather than herself.

I think the どんどん sense is lost here, I’d maybe tweak to something like “to break them down one by one”

minor English tweak but I feel like this ends up reading slightly confusing since she’s talking about time but it sounds like she’s maybe looking around from her vantage point or something, so I’d tweak it to “from here on out” or something.

I think I would render this more as like, “It feels like if our opponents are going to bring it then we’ll have to answer. I want to show them too what it means to be champion.”

I think I would tweak the second part to something like maybe:
“It felt like it was all down to how much encouragement I could eke out of Hikari prodding me on”
I think the どれだけあるかってかんじじゃない? makes it into an important question in a way that didn’t quite make it into the translation. Like - the impression she got of the situation was that question, i.e. that’s what things were riding on.

I would make a small tweak here from
“I thought it would be seen”
to
“Though I thought it would simply be seen”
As in like, I get the impression Miyu was looking at it beyond the straightforward generation difference.

Not really a meaningful change, but I’d tweak this to “You are going to cry!” to fit her tone in the video, and how she’s basically answering her own question from a little earlier with increased assurance.

It’s not the Arisu part that she’s talking about here - this is a punchline to what she was saying just before about them definitely having to win. Even punctuated with a slap on the knee and a laugh break:
image
image
image
It’s a self-deprecating joke about how she’s not the one to be able to say they’d definitely win, since she’s the one who took the pin.

One minor tipoff from the transcript might be the relatively rare exclamation mark used in the Japanese transcript. A hard stop like that means the だけど is definitely referring backwards, softening or undercutting what she just said. In this case, making a joke out of her expressed determination and confidence.

Yeah it’s hard to make out since they’re talking over each other, but I think probably the joke is that Mizuki probably isn’t so thrilled about being together with Rika for so long, since Mizuki makes sure to maintain her distance with her, so Nakajima’s highlighting that and then Yamashita is highlighting that everyone else feels positively about it at least.
Hard to render in a transcript because of the talking over each other and context being together. So the ネガティブな) is added to try to kind of explain.

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Haha, I watched the video, and it still didn’t help at all :weary:! I even shared it in the film club discord, and everyone in there had totally different interpretations of what specifically she was emphasizing :joy_cat: :sob:.

Onomatopoeia remain sort of the next big boss for me with Japanese… Kanji are basically a total non-issue now, but I definitely feel the size of the mountain still ahead of me with onomatopoeia… What trips me up is that they usually mean something pretty specific, whereas most of the English glosses for them are broader in meaning, and even when an English gloss does exist for something, it’s not always a good fit. I feel like I’d be much lazier with learning them if I didn’t have to translate them, haha.

Also, I mentioned to Akira that Kamiyu is usually particularly difficult for me to understand, and they said:

Haha. She mentioned that she often creates her own original vocabularies. For example, when she says ‘From the 3rd floor,’ it means ‘From the top corner (3rd rope).’

:weary:

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Finished the TJPW December 6 VOD show! This was Yuka’s last TJPW show :sob:. Hopefully she’ll be back someday down the line… :smiling_face_with_tear:

The show did start with a moment that made me laugh, though. Here’s my translation of what shupro had for it:

In the opening, ring announcer Sayuri Namba appeared and made announcements as usual. Then Uehara stepped into the ring, and it was announced that she was getting a singles match with Aja Kong at the January 4 Korakuen show as a “reward” for winning the Next Generation Tournament. She said, “What!? My heart immediately started racing…” But she was enthusiastic despite being flustered, and she said, “Ittenyon will be exactly one year since I started wrestling, so I’m going to hit Aja-san with everything that I’ve done in the past year!”

I burst out laughing when I heard that getting obliterated by Aja Kong was going to be her “reward” for winning the tournament. Only in pro wrestling!

The rest of the comments were pretty much all about Yuka :smiling_face_with_tear:. First up, her match with Rika against Antonio Honda and Trans-Am Hiroshi. From how they talked about it, this seems to be a remix of a very early TJPW match? I couldn’t find any record of it on cagematch (which means nothing).

Something I found interesting about it (which also came up in the wrestlers’ comments) is that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen another case where two women wrestlers were shown to have clearly surpassed two male wrestlers like this? Honda and Hiroshi aren’t exactly booked to be particularly powerful just in general, but it was still neat to me that there was never a sense of Yuka and Rika’s team being weaker because they were women, and they actually came across as the far more powerful wrestlers.

I considered translating a bit of the stipulation and the finish, since you sort of need Japanese ability to understand what’s going on here, haha, but I’m running so far behind, I think I’ll let Dramatic DDT take care of roughly summing it up.

Here are the comments, though!

Sakazaki & Tatsumi: “Thank you very much!”

I couldn’t figure out Honda’s line here: “ありがとうも何もねえよ.”

Anton: “‘Thanks’ is nothing.”

Hiroshi: “Yeah, that’s right.”

Anton: “We just hit each other as hard as we could. We lost today, but I don’t know if we’ll ever do it again. Ten years, a decade passing like this, it truly went by in an instant.”

Sakazaki: “It all started with a match with you two. It’s thanks to you that we were able to do what we’ve done. Thank you for your support over the past ten years. Please take care of Rika from here.”

Anton: “For ten years, I have… I haven’t taken care of anything.”

Sakazaki: “No, no, I’ve seen both of you working very hard.”

The first line here gave me a bit of trouble. I think I got the rest, though? “本当に我々の予想以上というか、人生面白すぎるというか。彼女たちがこうやって我々を越えて、すごいレスラーになっていくっていう過程にみなさんもビックリしたと思いますし、我々もビックリしましたし、ひょっとしたら2人自身もビックリしたかと.”

Anton: “It’s really more than either of us ever expected, or rather, life is so interesting. These girls surpassing us and becoming amazing wrestlers, I think everyone was surprised to see how that played out. We were surprised, too. Maybe they themselves were surprised. We’ve lived truly amazing lives, haven’t we? Yay!”

Hiroshi: “Life is great!”

Tatsumi: “I’m glad I became a pro wrestler.”

I think what’s going on here is he’s closing the backstage interview like the closing promo of a show? “ホントだね。プロレス最高だね。というわけで最後プロレスで終わりますか。いきますよ.”

Anton: “It’s true. Pro wrestling is the best. So shall we end with a pro wrestling closing? I’ll go. I love you!”

All: “PRO WRESTLING!”

アントン「さよなら。また会いましょう」

Anton: “Sayonara. Let’s meet again.”

That last line doesn’t seem to have made it into the video on twitter, but it’s in the transcript. I think there’s a bit of a joke there? Because there’s sort of an implication with sayonara being a more permanent goodbye, and then he immediately follows it up with “また会いましょう”, haha. I’ll probably give that a translator’s note.

The main event of the show was so good and also so sad :sob:. It was Yuka vs Shoko vs Miyu, which is a match I don’t think I’ve ever seen in TJPW before. It was such an interesting match because there was no title on the line for it or anything, so it was sort of like a typical TJPW midcard 3-way, except with the top three wrestlers in the company in it, haha. So it had plenty of ridiculousness, but also some genuinely great spots and that old familiar synergy between Shoko and Yuka.

The ending totally undid me… the way that Yuka pinned Shoko and Shoko’s arms came up around her as the ref counted to three :sob:. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like that in wrestling before. There’s just something so touching to me about a wrestler using the last of her energy to hug the person pinning her instead of trying to kick out :sob:.

Here’s the post-match:

After the match, Yamashita came in and they all shook hands. Then they embraced. Sakazaki bowed deeply to all four sides, and she once again embraced Nakajima and then Yamashita. Then she took the microphone.

Sakazaki: (laughing) “…This match, when I knew I was going to leave, I knew this would be the configuration for my last match. Of course, at first I thought it’d be a singles match with Shoko.”

This line was a bit tricky to translate: “でもやっぱりこんな手のかかるアホンダラ(=山下)でも、やっぱり欠かせない私の一部で、切り離せないものだから.”

“But even this troublesome airhead (Yamashita) is an indispensable part of me, too, and I can’t cut her out. So, I’m glad that this 3-way happened. Thank you for fighting me.”

Nakajima: “When you first told me you were leaving, we’ve been working together since the promotion started, right? I’ve been doing my best in pro wrestling because I didn’t want to lose to Yuka Sakazaki, this whole time.”

Sakazaki: “That’s not true!”

Nakajima: “I had someone amazing next to me. The whole time…” (crying) “I didn’t want to lose, so I worked hard… It’s selfish, but I thought that if you left, I wouldn’t be able to do my best in pro wrestling. But, well, I lost today.” (laughs) “I’m always thinking that I want to become a more and more amazing pro wrestler going forward.”

This was a bit tricky: “だから寂しいけど、地球はひとつだしな。ずっと続けるしな.”

“So I’ll miss you, but we’re on the same earth. I’m going to keep on keeping on. I’m going to do my best, so don’t catch a cold in America.”

Yamashita: (crying) “I can’t really speak… give me a minute.” (bitter smile) “We’ve been together for ten years, and for me, Yuka-chan is really like… she’s like an older sister to me, and like a mother… It’s truly thanks to Yuka-chan that I am the wrestler and the person that I am today. You get angry at me when I mess up, but when I’m sad or depressed, you’re always at my side, and your happiness makes me happy. So you’re someone really important to me, and I feel how you feel, so when you’re in pain, I’m in pain, too, and if you’re angry about something… I’m probably even more angry than you are about it. When you’re laughing happily, I’m truly happy, too. So even though we’re going to be apart, I’m not sure if I can be of any help, and I’m an idiot and a fool, but I’ll always be on your side. Whether you’re in America or anywhere else, no matter how far, I’ll fly over when things get tough. So please do your best in your typical way, Yuka-chan. Well, please don’t overdo it.”

Sakazaki: “Same goes for you.”

Yamashita: “But I’ll be watching you the whole time. Even if you don’t want me to, I’ll chase you around. Please keep up the good work. This isn’t a ‘sayonara’, so let’s work hard together from here. Thank you.”

Sakazaki: (laughing) (to Mizuki standing below) “Hey, you there. Come on up.”

Mizuki: “I’ve been enduring it this whole time, but I still don’t like it! I hate it! I wanted to have so many more matches with the two of us together, and I wanted to stand in the ring together so many more times. I wanted to be with you forever, so… I might hate this.”

Sakazaki: “My schedule got a bit crazy and we couldn’t have a match. …Let’s do it today. There isn’t much time, but, let’s do it! I know we don’t have much time, though. Tecchan, where are you? Can we have a minute, at least? Can you give us just a bit of time…” (Representative Koda calls out “3 minutes”) “3 minutes! Is that alright?”

And so a one fall, 3 minute time limit singles match was hastily set.

I had the existence of the extra match spoiled for me, but didn’t know any of the actual details. 3 minutes :sob:. It reminded me of the one minute exhibition match between Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada in Pro Wrestling NOAH earlier this year (I wrote about this in my wrestling journal)…

I’m sort of at a loss to describe this one, except that it made me really sad :sob:.

Here’s the post-match:

As the crowd applauds them, both wrestlers cry loudly. Mizuki said, “I’m cheering for you…”, then she dragged Sakazaki upright and hugged her. Sakazaki said, “It’s over,” and continued to cry. Yamashita and Nakajima and Tatsumi rushed into the ring, and the graduation ceremony began with the five of them.

First, Yamashita and Nakajima presented a bouquet of flowers, and Mizuki presented a “candy” bouquet. Tatsumi handed Sakazaki a photo album, and the wrestlers gathered in the ring for a commemorative photo.

Sakazaki: “Today I realized once again how truly fortunate I am to have started my life in TJPW. Truly, thank you so much. No matter where I go from here, I will always be proud to have come from TJPW, and I’m gonna keep getting bigger and bigger, so please watch over me in the future as well. And these amazing friends of mine… please keep supporting TJPW forever and ever! Thank you so much for everything until now. See you later!”

At the end, the wrestlers shook hands with her and hugged her one by one, and Sakazaki, who remained in the ring until the end, said, “Truly, thank you so much for everything! Thank you for letting me grow up!” She bowed deeply, then high-fived the members of the audience at the exit door of the venue as a farewell.

Yuka’s comments:

Sakazaki: “TJPW is the best, and this was the best show. Truly, thank you so much. I’m glad that I was able to graduate here, and I’m glad to have gotten my start here. Thank you to (Sanshiro) Takagi-san, too, for picking me up.”

This question was weirdly a bit tough to interpret: “結果的に3試合闘いました.”

(You ended up fighting in three matches)

“I was thinking about having a match with Anton-san and Mr. Hiroshi Fukuda. It was a match I wanted to do on my graduation road. I was considering doing the 3-way for the last one, but of course there was no way I could leave Mizuki out. In terms of feelings, I didn’t want to do the match, but… We’re wrestlers, after all, so I’m glad we were able to have a match today, even a short one, so that we can live strong even if our paths will be different from now on.”

This question was also tough: “東京女子の子にエールを送るとしたら?”

(If you were to give a shout-out to the TJPW girls, what would you say?)

“They’re really good girls, my girls. You rarely see girls as good as they have grown up to be.”

This was a bit tricky: “だからホントに1人1人が宝物なので、これからもその個性を、自分を信じてノビノビ生きてほしいですね。ホントいい子なんです.”

“Each one of them is a treasure, so I hope they keep living their lives freely, with confidence in themselves and in their own individuality. They’re really good girls.”

(You had a long absence, but do you have any lingering regrets concerning your graduation road?)

“Regrets… My dream was to have a title defense against Mickey and friends at Disneyland, and I don’t think that unreasonable hope has died yet. As long as I’m a wrestler, someday I want to have a tag match against Mickey and friends at Disneyland.”

It made me laugh listening to the video and hearing the censored bits haha. I can’t remember if I actually watched the video the last time she said this, or if I watched it but didn’t manage to catch the censoring (or maybe they didn’t censor the last one?). I won’t censor it on my blog, though, for the sake of people who might be trying to read it with the help of screenreaders/translation software.

Shoko and Miyu:

Nakajima: “…What do you want me to say?” (laughs) “It’s over… I’m gonna miss her.”

Yamashita: “Yeah… but I was already, I’ve been training with everyone for several years now, and, well, I knew that this day would come someday… I prepared for it. But I’m still really going to miss her, and I felt once again just how important Yuka-chan is to me, and that’s never going to change. Today, at the very end, getting to do the 3-way match with Nakajima and Yuka-chan, that was really… it was a really important match for me, a really special match, and I’m glad she chose me for it. I really appreciate it, and it was a lot of fun.”

Nakajima: “Well, I’ve already said everything I want to say to her, so I’ll say one last thing. Yuka-chi! I love you! …Don’t catch a cold, okay?”

Mizuki:

Mizuki: “Ever since Yuka-chi’s graduation was set, I’ve been looking away from it… It sunk in all at once, and I got really sad.”

This was a bit tricky: “何回も『イヤだ』って言ったらどうにかなるんじゃないかっていうのも思ったけど…特別な3分間がもらえたから…(涙)”

“I thought if I said ‘no’ over and over again, it would turn out alright, but… now that we’ve gotten those three special minutes…” (crying) “But I still don’t want to fight, so I hope we can team up again for the next one someday. Yuka-chi is always worrying about me, but really, she’s the one who works too hard, and pushes herself too much, and thinks only about others. From this point on, you should really take care of yourself… I want you to shine as much as possible. But I’m going to do my best so that TJPW will shine just as brightly."

(You don’t like fighting, but were you glad to fight in the end?)

“…Normally, I’d really hate it, but I had her all to myself, so I have no regrets. I’m glad.”

:sob:

Well, glad to be done with all the sad comments, at least… :smiling_face_with_tear:. Here’s hoping 2024 doesn’t give me any more goodbyes to have to translate :pensive:.

Three more shows left to go, all of which are shorter than this one!

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I dunno if Dramatic DDT covered it or not but I watched the show last night and one language aspect I enjoyed a whole lot was the song Trans-Am Hiroshi sang to distract Yuka and Rika from a top rope move. I immediately recognized it as a song that’s in the rhythm game 押忍 闘え 応援団2! I looked it from that, and it turns out it’s called 贈る言葉 and I found the lyrics very beautiful, about, of course, a bittersweet departure. (the version the game’s take on it is based on is amusingly much more upbeat).
From the context, I imagine it’s probably well-known and common enough in that kind of a situation to be a little cheesy, but coming to it unexpectedly this way it really got me and definitely got me in an emotional mood for the show!
and understanding a dick joke about Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate is probably up there with the JLPT in terms of listening comprehension accomplishments…

For Xも何も here’s one source that may be helpful. In that structure X is an example among many, like to show emphasis. Like not just X but anything and everything is (whatever).

That doesn’t make the phrase completely easy to decide how to render in English though… I’d go with something maybe like “It’s not the place for thanks or anything like that!” or something. He’s rejecting returning the thanks due to emphasizing the toughness of the (Japanese language edition) I Quit match.

I think this is fine!

I mean he is (for whatever reason), but the プロレスで終わりますか isn’t describing that, it’s suggesting, as they then do, that they close with a “プロレス” chant. :slight_smile: “shall we close with a hearty ‘Pro Wrestling’ chant?” is maybe how I’d render it in an English transcript to get that across.
The Japanese transcript would probably have tripped you up less if it wrote it like:
「プ・ロ・レ・ス」で終わりますか?

(mildly interesting that it looks like the DDT transcription does have the 「」 around it)

I’m not sure if the implication of さよなら is so permanent as to make the combination discordant / a joke here. I think it reads to me like “Goodbye, let’s meet again (someday).” Like it is permanent but not in a way where they’re definitely never going to see each other again. (but judging that kind of thing is probably the riskiest type of thing for me to comment on).

The rest all seemed fine! probably the fewest comments I’ve made for one of these?

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Oh yeah, that kind of thing often does not make it into the recaps (and thus doesn’t make it into Dramatic DDT’s blog posts either). So definitely a Japanese language bonus! Thank you for pointing it out; I was totally unfamiliar yourself, but listening to the song now, I can see what you mean :smiling_face_with_tear:.

I think pro wrestling is at its best when it’s a bit cheesy just because the medium is so surprisingly (?) earnest about emotion.

HAHA I can imagine! Honestly, I feel like Honda’s gimmick itself is one of those things that non-Japanese speakers struggle a lot more to appreciate…

Yeah, the main reason why it stood out to me was because 1) Miyu says “サヨナラじゃない”, and 2) hilariously, when I googled it to double-check the connotation, a site I saw suggested “また会いましょう” as an alternative that means essentially the opposite, haha. So Honda using both in a row like that sort of stood out to me.

I wondered if it was worth pointing out in a translator’s note the various different goodbyes, including Yuka’s “またね!”. But maybe it’s enough to just keep the “sayonara” romanized (I think that’s one that I can safely assume that people know, haha, though not everyone knows the connotation) and leave the others translated as I have them.

I think there have been fewer comments on at least one other, though probably for a shorter show :sweat_smile:. It’s honestly funny how there will be a show with a comment from Kamiyu where I have at least one question for every single sentence, and then one like this, where I feel like I mostly got everything? Hahaha!

Slowly but surely, I’m making progress :smiling_face_with_tear:.

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I finished translating the Japanese stuff from Combat Princess, the December 14 TJPW/Prestige crossover show in America! (If you didn’t buy this PPV, rodan, don’t worry about helping check the in-ring stuff, haha)

I watched this show live, though was late to buying it because the stream I was trying to watch with others ended up not working, haha. So I missed most of Pom and Max’s match :smiling_face_with_tear:. Overall, I thought the show was fun, though it wasn’t as good as the mania week show in March.

The first match with comments was Free WiFi vs Shazza McKenzie and Janai Kai! This was a title match, and the result was somewhat unsurprising, haha.

Hikari and Nao’s comments:

Hikari: “If I’d been alone there at the end, I never would’ve won. Nao-san helped me out at the end, and I heard my name called so many times, I was able to tough it out somehow. This was our first time here. I’d teamed up with Janai once, but when we fought, she wasn’t very nice at all, and I got scared.”

Kakuta: “She was so scary!”

Hikari: “Shazza was swapped in on short notice. But I’m happy that they gave us a title match.”

Kakuta: “I’m crying a little bit. I never thought I’d ever in my life have the opportunity to become a champion and come to America to defend my title. It would have been really bad if we’d lost them, but I was able to defend the belts with Hikari again, and I think Free WiFi’s belts are shining even more after this Los Angeles show, so I’m gonna do my best in the next one. Ittenyon is next. I’m happy because with this, I’ll be finishing out 2023 and ushering in 2024 as a champion, and I think Free WiFi are unbeatable, so I feel that anyone can come forward to challenge.”

These lines were a bit tricky to translate:

ヒカリ「フリーWi-Fi、飛んでましたね」

Hikari: “Free WiFi was in the air.”

角田「じゃあロサンゼルスでいきますよ」

Kakuta: “Then, we’re in Los Angeles, so let’s go!”

Hikari: “English version?”

Kakuta: “Sure, let’s do it.”

Both: (in English) “GOOD SIGNAL, BIBIBIBIBI!”

Shazza and Janai’s comments were in English! Took me a bit of replaying the video to get some parts, but I think I got it all.

Shazza: “I’m sorry.”

Janai: “No, I’m sorry I kicked you. I should’ve had better aim on that. I’m sorry.”

Shazza: “But I—I didn’t kick out. I didn’t kick out on 3. Rule number one of a wrestler is ‘kick out on 3’.”

Janai: “It’s a team effort. I should’ve been up, I should’ve had your back.”

Shazza: “This was—this was only the first time that Demon Hearts—We’ve been together in the ring. It’s only the first time. And we took it to the champions. We took it to the champions. We were close. We’re close! Today we just—We just need to get back to training. More of us together. And then next time, next time… Next time I’ll kick out. And then they’ll be down. And we’ll have—Yeah!”

Janai: “This is not the last time you’ll see Demon Hearts, TJPW. Not the last time.”

Shazza: “Alright. We’re coming for those belts. We’re coming.”

The main event was my favorite match on the show! It was Itoh and Miyu vs Masha Slamovich and Killer Kelly, who are Impact wrestlers (and current Knockouts tag champs). I’ll be honest, I know nothing about their tag team except for the fact that they had some extremely homoerotic segments on Impact that made it to my corner of gay wrestling fandom hahaha. They left a positive impression on me, though! I’ve liked Masha since I first watched her in I believe Assemble (when she was with Marvelous during the early pandemic).

I don’t know if you can exactly call it an upset, but Masha and Kelly got the win, with Masha pinning Miyu! Poor One To Million have a 0-2 streak as a team wrestling in official TJPW US shows, haha (Pom, meanwhile is undefeated in the US :triumph:).

The post-match was mostly in English, which is good because I didn’t have a great transcript for it, haha. I tried my best with the Japanese bits and think I did an okay job:

Masha: (tapping the mic) “Is this on? Los Angeles! Welcome to the world of MK Ultra. So now that I’ve introduced you to one thing, I also introduced you to an example of what’s gonna happen January 4th, Miyu. Because the same thing that happened here tonight, is that I kicked your head off with your own move and piledrove you to your death. So on January 4th in Tokyo, I hope you’re ready to say goodbye to that belt, which is rightfully mine.” (Yamashita takes the mic from her)

Yamashita: “Listen, everyone! And YOU! Next time, I will kick your ass! See you in Japan!”

Yamashita holds out her hand for a handshake, but Masha kicks it away. They get in each other’s face, and Kelly separates them. Itoh grabs a mic and interrupts.

Itoh: “Cutest in the world! Yay! Okay, okay, okay. C’mon everyone!” (the other wrestlers emerge from backstage and step into the ring) (in Japanese) “Okay, everyone, get together. Yes, at the end, let’s form a circle.” (in English) “Please make a circle. Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you. Okay. Next year, we will come back to the U.S.! The place is Philly! Sorry, it’s not Los Angeles, but we hope to see you all again! YAAAAY! Thank you! Okay! Thank you for coming today!” (in Japanese) “Thank you so much!”

Masha and Kelly’s comments were in English!

Masha: “Welcome to the world of MK Ultra. The most dominant tag team on the face of America. So what do you think of MK Ultra, coming straight to you overseas?”

Kelly: “MK Ultra is ready to rule the entire world. We’re—” (laughs) “We’re gonna rule them all, aren’t we?”

Masha: “We’re gonna rule them all, and especially, after what you saw there tonight, where I kicked and finished off Miyu, on January 4th, that title is coming home with me.

Kelly: (holding Masha and motioning to her waist) “Right here.”

Masha: “And it’s coming home to MK Ultra.”

Both: (laughing)

Itoh’s and Miyu’s comments were… well, Itoh and Miyu comments :sweat_smile:.

Yamashita: “I lost!”

Itoh: “You lost.”

Yamashita: “Sorry, I got done in right at the end…”

Itoh: “We had such a good rhythm going…”

The start of this was a bit tricky:

山下「私たちは(組むの)久しぶりじゃん。でさ、私たち会ってない時間が長くて久しぶりに会った時に試合すると調子いいじゃん」

Itoh: “It’s been a long time (since we teamed up). But when it’s been a long time since we’ve met up and we’re seeing each other for the first time in a long time, we’re in good shape for a match.”

伊藤「調子いいね」

Itoh: “Good shape, huh?”

山下「今日も、ずっと調子よかったの」

Yamashita: “Today, too, I was in good shape the whole time.”

Itoh: “I’m glad.”

Yamashita: “I’m really sorry. About how it ended.”

Itoh: “What was that?”

Yamashita: “Well, I think my weakness emerged. Plain and simple.”

Itoh: (laughs) “What do you mean by weakness?”

Yamashita: “I thought I could do it…”

Itoh: “Ah, you mean to say that you got overconfident.”

Yamashita: “Yeah. Probably. She saw me there, and… I’ve already faced Masha a lot, so she was able to totally avoid the Spin Kick.”

Itoh: “She read you.”

Yamashita: “So I want to train more before our next match on January 4, and prepare for the title match by analyzing Masha some more.”

Itoh: “But Masha will be doing deathmatches on December 30 and 31 at GCW. So I think she’ll be temporarily weakened.”

Yamashita: “That doesn’t matter! I said that kind of thing is what I hate the most.”

Itoh: “Really?”

Yamashita: “And that’s probably irrelevant to Masha, anyway. She’s always doing hardcore matches in the U.S.”

Itoh: “That’s true.”

Yamashita: “They practically never weaken her.”

Itoh: “They don’t? Alright.”

Yamashita: “I don’t want her to come in that condition. I want to defend my belt by taking down Masha when she’s in perfect condition.”

This next part was tough! Miyu pronounces Kelly’s name weirdly in a way I wasn’t quite sure how to romanize, haha: “でもやっぱ、いまIMPACTレスリングのチャンピオンのMK Ultra、キラーキャリーとマーシャね.”

“But I still have to face the current IMPACT wrestling champions MK Ultra, Killer Kerry and Masha.”

Itoh: “Why are you pronouncing it like that?”

Yamashita: “I’ve been saying it that way this whole time.”

I wasn’t quite sure about this:

伊藤「いや別にキラー・ケリーでいいじゃん。なんでカブれてるの?」

Itoh: “No, why don’t you just say Killer Kelly? What influenced you?”

山下「カブれてねえし」

Yamashita: “It didn’t affect me.”

伊藤「今回、2週間しかアメリカ行ってなくない? カブれてるじゃん」

Itoh: “You only went to America for two weeks this time, didn’t you? It influenced you.”

山下「でもやんないとさ、今日負けてるんだよ、こっちは」

Yamashita: “But I have to do it. We’re losing today.”

Itoh: (laughing) “That’s right, we lost, so we’ll do our best.”

Yamashita: “I’m going to win for sure. Please support me.”

Itoh: “Got it.”

Yamashita: “I’m going to do my best.”

And that’s it for that one! Just two more left to go!!

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I think the transcript got this a little wrong - it sounds to me like she said いいWi-Fi飛んでましたね which makes a little more sense rather than talking about the tag team by name. 飛ぶ in the context of wifi appears to mean sending the signal, so she’s saying they sent a good wifi signal, in the way that they do.

I would say here the いきます is referring to like - she’s announcing they’re going to do their BIBIBIBIBI chant. While highlighting that they’re doing it in LA since that’s cool.

image

I suppose the English here could mean that too! But it sounds to me a little more as-is like she’s saying they should go explore Los Angeles (and I’m not sure if that’s what you meant or not).
Hmmm… maybe a place were it’s clearest to not be fully literal? Like “Well, time for our catchphrase - in Los Angeles!” But probably “let’s go” or some other genericish English phrase is fine.

The one thing I’d say is I don’t think the 調子いい here is like, mainly physically good shape, it’s more like they were getting along well, they were well prepared mentally as a team, in good spirits going into the match, that kind of thing. “good shape” works but maybe sounds slightly too physicality-centric.
Hmmmm… I tried to think of good alternatives but I think I like “we’re in good shape as a team going into a match”
Like, it’s their relationship that I think was mutually 調子いい. And so come to think of it I’d change the “I was in good shape” to “we were in good shape” to follow on from that.

Also, one more tweak in this section (I guess in the end I had more than one thing to say…):
“Good shape, huh?” is I think too speculative for Itoh’s tone here. She’s agreeing with what Yamashita is saying. The ね is a bit superfluous softening and if anything just adds an additional air of like, they’re agreeing with each other rather than one person declaring anything.
“Good shape, yeah.” or “good shape, totally” or something better than those I think would fit better because of that.

Here I assume there was a slight transcription mistake - in the video Itoh’s just agreeing with Yamashita again.
調子よかったね
I assume the 調子 was dropped in the transcript.
She’s just echoing Yamashita for both of these.

Hmmm this is tough because I feel like Maki and Shupro are making fun of Miyu for different things here. :sweat_smile:
Maki’s giving her grief for trying to go for the English “Killer Kelly” instead of a well-pronounced Japanese キラー・ケリー.
Whereas Shupro’s take on what she actually ended up saying is キラーキャリー, which I would render as “Killer Carrie” since after all, Stephen King’s first novel is given as キャリー in Japanese.
I feel like she doesn’t do that bad of a job at pronouncing the English considering how mean a name it must be for a Japanese speaker. Maybe “Killer Carrie” and a footnote…

Here I don’t know what was in the transcript, but I feel like what Maki says in the video is clearer about what she’s poking fun at - I hear something like “すごいね, なんでそこで発音がいいの”
As in like, “why are you (trying to) pronouncing that so well (in English)”

Following on my comments above, (there’s definitely going to have to be a translator’s note somewhere in here but) she’s poking fun at Miyu for trying to say Killer Kelly instead of キラー・ケリー,
and it appears カブれてる is an expression for changing your behavior because of a big influence from something, with the highly relevant example given of アメリカかぶれ with the first few google image results giving for that, as you’d imagine, exaggerated examples of people winding up Americanized.
That’s the word I’d probably go for here:
なんでカブれてるの
I’d go with something like
“Why are you Americanized all of a sudden?”

With the joke then being them arguing back and forth about whether she’s gone American or not before (after a beat to get the timing right for the punchline) she switches to saying that she’s got to in order to win.

I’d also tweak I think “We’re losing today” to “We’re beaten today” in that pesky おまえはもう死んでいる / “you’re already dead” not “you’re already dying” kind of way.

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Finished translating the December 17 TJPW show! This is the one with the randomly drawn singles matches that each have a 7 minute time limit.

Shupro helpfully supplied me with a transcript for the bit with Daisy Monkey in the opening!

Ring announcer Sayuri Namba appeared in the opening of the first Kasukabe event since January, making announcements as usual. She then summoned Hikari, and talked about the next title match. She announced that it’ll be held on January 4 at Korakuen, and the opponents will be Daisy Monkey (Suzume & Endo). In response, the three wrestlers (everyone except for Kakuta, who was absent that day) gathered in the ring and spoke on the microphone.

Suzume: “We, Daisy Monkey, will be challenging for the titles on January 4.”

The first chunk of this gave me a bit of trouble: “東京女子プロレスの最強のタッグがつないできたベルトに私はずっとずっと憧れてて、いつかでじもんで、いつか有栖と、って思ってました.”

“I have always longed for those belts that are tied to TJPW’s strongest tag teams, and I think someday they’ll be Daisy Monkey’s, someday I’ll have them with Arisu. I don’t think it’s someday—I think it’s now.”

Endo: “I believe the two of us can do anything we set our minds to, so we’re absolutely going to seize this chance!”

Hikari: “We can’t afford to drop the belts so early in the new year. We’ll defend them with everything we’ve got! That’s what Nao-san’s probably saying, yeah.”

The first match with comments was Yuki vs Pom, which was pretty entertaining haha because Pom tried to exploit Yuki’s crush on Raku by weaponizing a Raku mask against her. The three of them did their comments together afterward:

Yuki: (holding the Raku mask in her hand) “I won Raku!”

Pom: “No, no. I won the actual person!”

Yuki: “I got distracted by the fact that I won Raku and this (mask). I’m going home with Raku.”

This was a bit tricky:

らく「…(真顔で一点見つめ)」

Raku: “…” (staring off into the distance with an expressionless look)

ユキ「らくが虚無すぎる(笑)。この(お面)笑顔が欲しい!」

Yuki: “Raku’s face is too blank.” (laughs) “I want to see this (the mask’s) smiling face!!”

Raku: “…” (staring off into the distance with a smile)

Both: “Ahhh!”

Yuki: “I quite like fighting Pom. It was fun to face her for the first time in a long time. I got ticked off by her using so many tricks, though.” (looking at Raku) “Wait a minute. I was trying to give a serious comment.”

Pom: “Well, Raku-san is Pom’s, so I’ll be taking this (the mask), too!”

There was a pretty funny interaction between the three of them on twitter after this, haha.

Also, I found the account of a new TJPW fan who got into the promotion after the most recent women-only show, and I cracked up at this tweet from this show where she’s trying to understand the 三角関係 dynamic, hahaha.

The next match with comments was Hikari vs Itoh, a perennial rivalry, haha, and a rather unsurprising draw, as I think this matchup is starting to move into main event singles match territory…

Itoh’s comments:

Itoh: “Hi there, it’s Maki Itoh, for the first time in a month and a half! Hello! I made it back to Japan safely. Yay! Today was a draw… it wasn’t anything special. Just a draw. I’ll be facing Rina Yamashita at ITTENYON, so I’ll do my best to achieve that goal. I will do my best to defeat Rina Yamashita! She scored a fall from me in the U.S., so I’ll work as hard as I can so that ITTENYON will be a win for Itoh. That’s what I’m focusing on right now. Sorry, I don’t have anything interesting to say.”

(Do you prefer normal rules for ITTENYON?)

“I don’t know. It depends on my opponent’s (approach). If they use something, I’ll use it, too. I always have a pizza cutter squirreled away in my suitcase. I’m prepared to cut anyone at any time.”

Hikari’s comments:

Hikari: “This was Itoh-san’s first match after she returned from overseas. Even though it was randomly drawn, it was fun to face her in a singles match like this, and I was happy, but as announced at the start, the (tag) title match is coming up, and with Nao-san working hard on stage right now, having a match like this and potentially beating Itoh-san after she gained so much experience overseas, I think that would’ve given me a confidence boost, but being able to fight Itoh-san to a 7-minute draw after she leveled up even more overseas, that’s huge for me. There’s just one match left before ITTENYON, but I hope I can steadily keep making progress without losing.”

I struggled a bit with this question: “挑戦者があの2人(でじもん)と聞いて.”

(What did you think when you heard that the challengers will be Daisy Monkey?)

This line also confused me at first: “今までの防衛戦、3回やってきてちょっと個性が強い、正統派のチームはいなかったなと思っていて.” I think I figured it out from context, but that comma there tripped me up haha because I don’t think the いなかった is applying to the 個性が強い (though I could be wrong!).

“In our title defenses so far, the three times we defended, all the teams had strong individuality. I don’t think there were any orthodox teams. Moka-chan and Juria-chan had a lot of moves that were different in nature from pro wrestling, and Max and Pom-chan, they were totally different. And, three or four days ago, we defended the titles overseas. This will be our first time facing people with a long history as a team, so there’s a bit of fear there, but after defending our belts three times against teams with such strong characters, I don’t think we have anything to be afraid of.”

The main event was Miu vs Moka, which was fun! The result surprised me a bit, because I though surely they’d also draw, haha, but Miu did actually manage to get the win! I was less surprised when I heard her post-match promo and learned that the show was in her hometown, haha! Here’s what she said:

Miu: “I beat Moka in the random draw singles match! Yay! As you all know, 7 minutes isn’t enough for Moka, and I thought, ‘Who drew this combination?’ But it’s fun to fight in a randomly drawn match like this once a year, and it made me feel like we’d reached the end of the year. There’s just one match left. Christmas Eve will be the last TJPW show for everyone this year… Everyone already has plans for Christmas this year, right? I hope you’ll have fun with us one more time with the last TJPW show of the year. Thank you for coming out to Saitama Prefecture today. So… Yes, I’m from Saitama, as it so happens. Thank you. And on that note, thank you very much for today!”

Miu’s comments:

Miu: “I had a singles match with Moka at the Kasukabe show! This random drawing happens once a year, and I hadn’t fought Moka since our title match in Osaka about a year and a half ago. Moka has grown a lot since then, and I’ve grown, too, and we’re both growing so rapidly. The moment I heard the match announced, I thought that 7 minutes wouldn’t be enough, but we both did the best we could do in 7 minutes, and I’m glad I was able to secure the win. Kasukabe was fun!”

(You were given the main event)

“Yes, I was in the main event, that’s for sure.” (laughs) “But typically I think it’s better not to pay too much attention to the match order, so I didn’t pay it much mind, but I was conscious of being in the main event after all, and I did want to make sure the audience went home happy… But in that respect, since it was with Moka, I didn’t have that sense of anxiety. I just wanted the audience to have a good time."

Moka’s comments:

Miyamoto: “Today in Kasukabe, I had a match with Miu-san by random draw. I hadn’t had a (singles) match with Miu-san since our title match over a year ago, and I’ve grown since then and I really wanted to win, but… As much as I’ve grown, Miu-san has also been growing. Miu-san was stronger than she was last time, and I’m disappointed that I lost in a span of time as short as 7 minutes. But I’d like to have another singles match with Miu-san if I get the chance, and I’m going to get strong enough that I’ll absolutely be able to beat her someday.”

(Were you able to show your growth during this period?)

“Yes. I think I was able to show what I have the ability to do right now.”

That’s it for that one!

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I also managed to finish translating the December 24 show, which had very little work for me (less than 1,000 characters to translate)!

The only part of this show with anything to translate was the main event, which was Moka, Raku, Miu, and Rika vs Miyu, Shoko, Arai, and Kaya. I thought the match (and the show as a whole) were fun in a very house-show-ish way, haha. Nothing particularly spectacular here, but a fine way to pass the afternoon.

Surprisingly (especially considering her previous match, though maybe that’s exactly why it happened, haha), Moka got the winning pin here! Here’s the post-match:

Tatsumi: “Moka, amazing! You did it!” (encouraging the crowd to cheer for Moka) “You want to hear Moka’s voice, right?”

Miyamoto: “I won! I was able to win the last match of the year, so I’m going to carry that momentum with me onward into next year. Thank you so much for this past year! I’m going to keep on growing next year, so thank you for your continued support!”

Tatsumi: “Moka will close the show?”

Miyamoto: “I’d like to have the champion, Yamashita-san, close at the end.”

Yamashita: (receiving “Yamashita” chants) “Pardon me, thank you. Since Moka asked me to do it, I’m going to close. But everyone worked hard, so I’m going to ask everyone to come into the ring.” (everyone who participated in the show today gathers in the ring) “Is everyone here? This will be our last show in 2023. I’m so happy that so many people stuck with us until the end and came to see us. Our first show next year is Korakuen Hall on January 4, and then in March we’ll be at Ryogoku Kokugikan for the second time. We’re going to keep pushing forward in 2024, too, in our TJPW style! Since this is the last show of the year, I’d like to close with a single clap.”

「お手を拝借!」「よー!」で一本締めをおこない、年内最終戦をみんなで締めた。

And with a “Get your hands ready!” “GO!”, they closed the final show of the year with a single clap.

Only thing I wasn’t quite sure about was translating that last bit, haha.

The winners were the only team to give backstage comments:

All: “Yay!”

Tatsumi: “Amazing, Moka!”

Miu: “You were awesome!”

Miyamoto: “I’m so happy that I won the last match of the year. I want to keep this momentum going into next year. Also, I’ll be going to the U.S. early next year, so I want to keep growing and gaining experience, and I’m going to make next year the year of Moka!”

Tatsumi: “Huh? No! It’s going to be the year of Rika!”

Miu: “Huh? Scary… Well, alright. I’ll make it Miu’s year!”

Tatsumi: “No!”

I wasn’t totally sure about this:

らく「みんな毎年寝るから、来年も私の年にします」

Raku: “Everyone sleeps every year, so I’ll make it my year, too.”

辰巳「ダメです! みんなの年にします」

Tatsumi: “No! We’re making it everyone’s year.”

未詩「平和です」

Miu: “The peaceful solution.”

(What kind of year was this year?)

Miyamoto: “This was a year of amazing experiences for me. I had my first match in the U.S., and I challenged for the tag belts. I think I was able to grow a lot by having a lot of great experiences.”

Tatsumi: “Everyone is growing up so fast, so don’t miss TJPW in 2024!”

Almost the least amount of questions I think I’ve ever asked for one of these shows, haha!

And that’s it, that’s the last TJPW show of the year! I can rest!! …Until they inevitably do a press conference that I have to scramble to translate last-minute :sweat_smile:.

My poor wrestling journal is woefully neglected still, but I’m hoping I can catch up a tiny bit more before all the イッテンヨン week shows set me back even further…

I might also do a top 10 matches of the year list, or something, since my journal has probably like 150 entries or something like that, which is quite a lot for anyone to sift through :sweat_smile:. But I’m waiting until the very end of the year to make decisions there. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Kento Miyahara is happening again on the 31st, and their first bout this year is currently my top men’s singles match, so there’s a chance this second one can edge it out!

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The いつか here with no particular predicate I would say is implying the kind of longing and picturing the future of like “someday I’d like to…” “someday maybe I’ll…” “wouldn’t it be wonderful if someday…” that kind of thing.
I think because of that the “someday I think I will” kind of phrasing here seems slightly too strong to me. She’s saying she’s been thinking she would love someday to win it as Daisy Monkey, to win it with Arisu.

I’m not sure what’s in the transcript, but I hear for the second part something like,
らくと一緒に帰えてたんですよ
While pointing at Raku and Pom, and so I think she’s talking about how when she was distracted with the mask in the ring, Pom was leaving with Raku.

It seems like a traditional kind of closer (like here’s a record from 1967 built around it) so I think I would just romanize it – at least the Yo–.

If Mizuki this year was any indication, I’d bet on Rika being right here, haha…

I think for the second part, “so next year also will be mine.” would be closer. Or “so like every year I’ll make it mine” or something. I think the existing rendition loses the 来年も aspect since it sounds like the “, too” is referring to the others making it theirs, rather than how she’s implying every year is hers and the next year is no exception.

(the rest seemed fine)

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Well… this wasn’t the press conference I wanted to translate…

despair_kagetsu

TJPW released a 緊急記者会見 tonight where they announced that Hikari won’t be able to make it to the 1.4 and 1.6 shows, so Free WiFi has to relinquish the tag belts :sob:.

I had a long and also kind of terrible day, but pushed myself to finish the translation before I went to bed anyway because the translation I saw circulating from that HD Subs account was, uh, frankly not very good. My friends and I have noticed the quality of that account’s translations decreasing :skull:.

Anyway, here’s the video, and here’s the official transcript. Thankfully, it’s really short, at least.

On December 31, a hastily called press conference was held at Shinjuku Gyoen Office in Tokyo.

I wasn’t quite sure how to translate Koda’s comment in this: “会見には甲田哲也代表と角田奈穂が出席し、乃蒼ヒカリが体調不良により1・4後楽園ホール大会、1・6新宿FACE大会を欠場となり、復帰時期も「はっきりしたことがわからない」(甲田代表)ため、角田と保持するプリンセスタッグ王座も返上する運びとなった.”

The press conference was attended by representative Tetsuya Koda and Nao Kakuta. Hikari Noa will miss the January 4 Korakuen Hall show and the January 6 Shinjuku FACE show due to poor physical health, and since the timeline for her return is “something that is not known definitively” (Koda), Noa and Kakuta will relinquish the Princess Tag Team Titles that they hold. Kakuta gave her comments on the matter.

I think I did alright on this, but I thought it was worth double-checking: “初めて獲ったベルトなので返上という事実はすごく悔しいですけど、でも決まっていた1月4日のタイトルマッチに揃って立つことができないということで、もうその時点で私個人としてはふりーWiFiの負けだなと思っています。なので、今回のこの返上という事実を受け止めることにしました。今日限りでこのことには自分の中で整理をつけて、区切りをつけて2024年は新しい気持ちで頑張っていこうと思います.”

"The fact that I have to relinquish the first belt I ever won is really disappointing, but since the title match on January 4 has already been set and we won’t be able to stand in the ring together for it, at that point, I personally feel that Free WiFi has already lost. So, I have decided to accept the fact that we’re giving the belts up this time. Today, I have to sort out my own thoughts, and after the break, I’m going to do my best in 2024 with a refreshed mindset.”

Representative Koda then announced a 3-way tag match to determine the 15th Princess Tag Team Champions, between Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Arisu Endo, and Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino (see “News” for the other card changes, including the January 6 Shinjuku FACE show). A question and answer session was held at the end.

――Are you and Hikari going to aim for the Princess Tag Team Championship again?

I think I did alright on this, too, but also figured it was worth checking: “一緒にベルトを巻いて2023年は楽しい思い出ができたので、今は正直いったんここで負けて返上したということを受け止めて、自分の中でリセットしたい気持ちが強いので、2024年は新しく、すぐにでも角田奈穂個人としてスタートしたい気持ちでいるし。なので、いつ戻ってくるか未定ということで、戻ってきたときに今後のふりーWiFiに関しては考えたいなと思います.”

Kakuta: “We won the belts together and made some happy memories in 2023, so to be honest, I want to accept the fact that we lost here and have to give up the belts, and I have a strong desire for a personal reset, so 2024 is a new year, and I want to get a start right away as Nao Kakuta, the individual. Her return is still undecided, so I’d like to think about the future of Free WiFi when she comes back.”

――As Nao Kakuta, the individual, what are your goals, and what are you aiming for?

And here’s her final response: “え~どうなんだろう…。正直、ぐちゃぐちゃしてます(涙)。受け止めきれないものを受け止めようと頑張っているところなので。私としては止まっている場合じゃないので、1ミリも、1分1秒たりとも止まっている時間はいらないので。「チャンスが来れば」とは言わず、自分でチャンスを掴みにいくプロレスラー人生をここから加速して掴んでいきたいと思っています.”

Kakuta: “Well, I don’t know… Honestly, I’m a mess.” (cries) “I’m trying my best to accept something that I cannot accept. For me, this isn’t the time to stop, and I don’t want to stop for a millimeter, a minute, or even a second. I want to speed up from here and seize life as a pro wrestler who seizes chances and doesn’t say ‘if the opportunity happens to come my way’.”

:sob:

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Ahhh… when you were done with translating the sad shows I had a hunch プロレス might oblige by providing more sad things to translate…

This seems fine to me, though I would change “something that is not known definitively” to just “not known definitively”
I would phrase the はっきりしたことがわからない part meaning-wise as like “concerning the timeframe of her return, we don’t know the details / don’t know it clearly yet.” Like the はっきりしたこと are the parts around the details/certainties around the situation, not the situation itself.

this seems fine to me, but I would change “Her return” to “(Hikari’s) return” or somesuch since I think in context she’s talking about Hikari, whereas in English 'her’sounds like she’s talking about Nao Kakuta the individual still.

This seems fine.
I would add a “Right now,” before “I’m trying my best…” party since she says 今 in the video and also because it’s conveyed by the ところなので - she’s explaining there why she’s ぐちゃぐち, because she’s currently having to accept this unacceptable reality.

Also, up to you, but I would maybe tweak “seize life as a pro wrestler who seizes chances” to “forge a pro wrestling career for myself as someone who seizes chances” since I feel like プロレスラー人生 refers to one’s career path as a pro-wrestler (with for example, a retiring wrestler’s プロレスラー人生 ending there) and I dunno if “life” in English is quite used like that as freely.

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Almost forgot, but here are the TJPW posters for イッテンヨン! Not a whole lot to translate, but they’re always fun, haha!

Under a cut because it's a lot of images and very little text

(Nothing on this one besides the show name, haha!)

とことん楽しめ!すっごいイッテンヨン!

Enjoy it to the end! Amazing ITTENYON!

VOLTAGE MAX!

狂ってやがる。

You’re crazy.

(I’m having trouble with coming up with something good for this one :weary:)

(Nothing to translate for this one either!)

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After talking about it with a few others, I ended up going with “You’re fucking crazy” with this to sort of try capturing the “やがる” vibe. Hopefully it doesn’t come across as one of those too over-the-top translations, haha :sweat_smile:.

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I was working on the (already late) January 3 press conference, and then TJPW dropped another one, wherein Juria Nagano announced that she’s graduating :smiling_face_with_tear:. I’m not terribly surprised, as she’s a profoundly busy person, but it’s still sad… It’s kind of odd to think about, but I actually outlasted her entire wrestling career as a translator, as I started translating TJPW around when she debuted…

Here’s a link to the official transcript for it, and here’s a link to the video. I’m not quite as worried about mistranslations spreading with this one, but I still wanted to get it done as soon as possible, so I did the whole thing in one night.

A press conference was held at Abema Towers in Shibuya, Tokyo on January 9, and Juria Nagano’s graduation from TJPW was announced. Juria will be entering the “4th ‘Futari wa Princess’ Max Heart Tournament”, and will be participating in the January 20 show at Shinagawa Prince Hall Club eX, the January 27 show at Ryogoku KFC Hall, the February 10 show at Korakuen Hall, and the March 31 show at Ryogoku Kokugikan, which is where she made her debut. Her final show will be on April 13 at Kitazawa Town Hall, where she will graduate. The press conference was attended by Nagano and representative Koda, who gave their comments.

Nagano: “Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to speak. I, Juria Nagano, will be graduating from TJPW on April 13.”

I wasn’t quite sure how to translate the “中途半端になってしまう” part in this: “理由と致しましては今後は芸能の仕事によりいっそう力を入れていきたいというところがありまして、その際にプロレスが中途半端になってしまうのが自分としても嫌だなというところがありまして、このような決断をいたしました.”

“The reason is that going forward, I’d like to focus more on my work in the entertainment industry, and I don’t want to leave pro wrestling half-finished, so I came to this decision. Also, I broke my hand last year, and I was unable to work for about six months, so when I thought about my plans for my future career, I decided to graduate. I still have dreams and things that I wanted to do as a professional wrestler. However, there are also things that I want and need to do as Juria Nagano, so I came to this decision. Since I started wrestling, for the past two years, there have been times when I really wanted to get away from it, and there were times when it was hard, but above all of that, I enjoyed standing in the ring. The cheers I’ve received from everyone supporting me have given me incredible strength. I’m grateful to all of you. Everyone at TJPW has been incredibly kind to me as I’ve kept going with pro wrestling. I’m a shy person, but from the very beginning, my senpais have talked to me a lot, and they’ve watched over me during practice until it got late, and new juniors have also joined, and I think everyone has made it a really nice environment. I’m truly grateful that I was able to do pro wrestling in this environment. I have three months until I graduate, so I’m going to fight hard as the pro wrestler Juria Nagano until my flame burns out.”

――What do you want to do in your remaining three months, and is there anything you’ve left undone?

Nagano: “I haven’t won a belt in two years of wrestling, so I want to win one, and I’ve been teaming up with Moka-san (Miyamoto) this whole time, so I want to win the tag belts with her. Also, I haven’t won a singles match on my own, so I’d like to do that as well.”

――Have you already informed Moka?

Juria: “Yes, Moka-san was the first person I told. She said, ‘I’ll miss you.’ But I still have three months left, so I’m even more determined to win with Moka-san, and I want to win and advance in the (tag) tournament.”

――Will you be continuing as a nurse?

Nagano: “Yes, I will continue as a nurse.”

――After you graduate, you aren’t going to wrestle?

Nagano: “That’s right. I will also be graduating from pro wrestling.”

――Why do you use the term “graduation” instead of “retirement”?

Nagano: “Originally, I didn’t really watch much pro wrestling at all, but President (Sanshiro) Takagi scouted me, and it was through TJPW that I came to know about (pro wrestling) and became deeply involved, so I view it as ‘quitting pro wrestling = graduating from TJPW’.”

――How has your two years of professional wrestling experience come in handy for your other jobs?

This was a bit tricky: “まだ公開されてない、アクション女優としての活動で寝技やグラウンドの攻防などが現場で活きてますし、アクション女優としてだけではなく女優として表現の幅が広がったなと思います.”

Nagano: “I’ve made use of it in my work as an action actress, which hasn’t been shown to the public yet, in scenes with pinning techniques and ground offense and defense and the like, and I think it has expanded my range of expression as an actress, not just as an action actress.”

――Did your recent appearance in a popular TV drama also influence your decision?

This was a bit tricky for the same reason as above: “そのドラマがというわけではないんですけど、芸能活動に力を入れたいということで、プロレスが中途半端になってしまったら自分自身も嫌だし、応援してくださっている方にも申し訳ないという気持ちで今回決断しました.”

Nagano: “It wasn’t because of that show, but because I wanted to focus more on my activities in the entertainment industry, and I didn’t want to do pro wrestling only halfway, and I felt guilty for all of the people who supported me, so I made this decision.”

――Representative Koda, would you like Nagano to contribute in some way after her graduation?

Koda’s answer was a bit hard for me, haha: “(長野に)していただけそうでしょうか? ウチのほうは是非お願いしたいと思います.”

Koda: (to Nagano) “Would you be willing to? We would certainly like to ask her.”

――After your graduation, will you be personally watching and supporting TJPW?

Nagano: “I hadn’t watched pro wrestling at all until I heard about this opportunity, but I thought it was a wonderful thing, and since I’ve fought as a wrestler, I want to support TJPW even after I quit, and I have a strong desire to watch it. After I graduate, I’d like to support them as a fan.”

And that’s it for that one! Hopefully the next translation after this will be something fun instead of sad :smiling_face_with_tear:.

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Weblio has:

  1. 物事が完了していないこと。またそのさま。
  2. 態度などがどっちつかずの状態で徹底していないこと。またそのさま。

And #2 sounds much more appropriate here considering that she’s talking specifically about finishing with pro wrestling.
I would translate as “I don’t want to thereby end up pursuing pro wrestling half-heartedly” or something like that.

I think the clauses ended up a little awkward here.
I’d render it as like “In my (not yet released) action acting work, pinning techniques, ground combat skills etc. come in handy on set,”
I think specifically the things bugging me were here,
現場で活きてます I think means “(it’s) useful on set”
and まだ公開されてない I think here is specifying that the 活動 she’s talking about is unreleased material - like it’s for film/tv/whatever that hasn’t released yet. Like the 活動 she’s talking about is both まだ公開されてない and アクション女優としての. While the English here kind of makes it sound like she’s saying her アクション女優としての活動 as a whole is まだ公開されてない, which I don’t think is the case.

“Half-hearted” again I think could be useful here.

A minor picky thing about sort of like, how the train of thought is built here,
“It’s not that I made this decision because of that show, but since I wanted to focus more on my entertainment industry work, I…”
Like I would say the というわけではないんですけど is indeed denying that it’s because of the show, but the nuance is I think like – ‘it’s not that X, but (there’s some truth Y related in that area that could be misconstrued to mean that)’, like “It’s not that I love hamburgers so much, I just like to grill” whereas in the English here it comes across more as “It wasn’t X, rather it was Y” like “I don’t love hamburgers, rather I like to grill” if that makes sense.

I think I’d probably tweak “We would certainly like to ask her” to something like “For our part, we would love to have her.”
In this case the “ask her” is certainly “ask her to contribute work for us” and I think it comes across slightly odd phrased like that in English with her right there (like as if he’s talking about asking her if she’d be willing to, like he just did)

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Finally, a fun press conference! I finished the January 3 presser before Ittenyon! …Even though Ittenyon is already long past :sweat_smile:. There’s some good stuff in here, though!

The video for the presser is here, and the transcripts are split into three places, so I’ll link them as we go. First up: the match for the vacated tag titles (transcript)!

On January 3, the contract signings for the three major title matches at the January 4 Korakuen Hall show was held in Suidobashi, Tokyo. Ring announcer Sayuri Namba presided over the signing. Each wrestler signed the contract and then gave their comments.

Suzume: “The card changed, but our feelings concerning the belts and our confidence remain the same as ever. We, Daisy Monkey, are going to hold the belts that have been held by the strongest tag teams in TJPW, like Daydream, Bakuretsu (Sisters), and (Free) WiFi.”

Arisu: “We have more opponents, and the opposing teams are chock full of powerful people, but as Suzume said, our desire for the belts is unchanged, so the two of us are going to take them!”

The first part of Miu’s answer was a bit tricky: “突然めぐり込んできたチャンスですが、白昼夢としてはいつでもいける準備はしてきたので。いつだって今日だって明日だって、いつでもいけると思ってやってきたので、リカさんとまだ叶えたい夢はいっぱいあるし、2019年に獲って以来、4か5年ぐらい獲ってないので、このベルトを今回獲って、2024年、リカさんといろんな夢を叶えていきたいと思います.”

Miu: “This chance appeared out of nowhere, but I’m always prepared to wrestle as part of Daydream at any time. I’ve been thinking that we can always go at any time, today, tomorrow, or whenever, so I still have a lot of dreams I’d like to fulfill with Rika-san, and since about 4-5 years have passed without us winning the belts since we won them in 2019, I want to win the belts here in 2024 and make some dreams come true with Rika-san.”

Rika: “As Miu said, it’s been a while since we’ve won the (tag) belts, and I have a strong impression that those pink belts also want to be worn by us. I’ve found it rather strange that Daydream weren’t the next challengers in the first place, so it’s only natural for us to challenge this time, and I think it’s divine providence. So I hope everyone can enjoy the championship match with peace of mind.”

I wasn’t quite sure what she was saying about Daisy Monkey here: “ただ、でじもんもそうだし、ユキと水波さんというタッグも現れて、一筋縄ではいかないなと思うんですけど、今まで積み上げてきたものがあるので、私たちがベルトに返り咲きたいと思います.”

“However, the same is true for Daisy Monkey, and Yuki and Mizunami-san’s tag team has also materialized, so I don’t think we can deal with them through ordinary means, but we’ve built up a lot of experience so far, so I hope we can bloom again with the belts.”

Yuki: “I’m really happy to have gotten an opportunity like this to challenge for the tag belts.”

I wasn’t quite sure how to translate the end of this: “しかも“アネキ”がいなくなったと思ったら“アニキ”とベルトに挑めるということで、このチャンスを確実にものにして、正式にみんなのアニキから私のアニキにするために、私は力づくでも何がなんでもベルトを獲りにいきます!”

“Just when I thought ‘aneki’ was gone, I get to challenge for the belts with ‘aniki’. I’m going to take this chance, and in order to officially make her go from ‘everyone’s aniki’ to ‘my aniki’, I’m going to recover my spirit and do whatever it takes to win the belts!”

(Omg this was so cute though :sob:. It’ll need a translator’s note, haha)

Mizunami: “First of all, Happy New Year 2024!”

Everyone: “Happy New Year!”

Mizunami: “This year is the Year of the Dragon. I was born in the Year of the Dragon, so it’s my year.”

The start of this and the “今この場にいるんですけど” chunk of the second sentence were a bit confusing to me: “そんな中で今回カード変更になったとは言え、この東京女子プロレスのタッグのベルトを巻くチャンス。これは私が辰年の年女というのもあるのかなと思いながら、今この場にいるんですけど、自分と愛野のタッグはでじもんや白昼夢と組んでいる回数を比べれば、まだまだ数回しか経ってないけど、そこは熱さと情熱でカバーして今回この東京女子プロレスのタッグのベルトを巻いて、私と愛野のタッグチームがチャンピオンとして東京女子プロレスに名を刻みたいと思っております.”

“In the midst of this, the card was changed, and it became a chance for me to win the TJPW tag belts. I was thinking, as I’m here now, that maybe this happened because it’s the Year of the Dragon, my year, but if you compare the number of times Yuki and I have teamed up to that of Daisy Monkey and Daydream, it’s still only been a few times, but I’m going to compensate for that with passion and enthusiasm and win the TJPW tag belts, and our tag team will etch our names in the history of TJPW as champions. We’re going to burst out with passion this year, too! That’s all!”

――Aino, what are your thoughts on your tag team with Mizunami?

Yuki: “I faced Mizunami-san for the first time in May and lost, which was really frustrating, but it felt like she was pounding on the door to my heart, telling me to bust it down myself and come out. Since then, we’ve teamed up twice, but Mizunami-san was even more amazing to see from close by, and I wanted to fight together with her even more. Mizunami-san has appeared in TJPW so many times, but she’s not always here because she’s not a member of TJPW. But if we become tag champions here, surely we’ll get more opportunities to fight together. So that’s why I absolutely have to take advantage of this amazing opportunity, and I want the two of us to win the tag belts together.”

――Mizunami, what do you think about Aino’s “from ‘everyone’s aniki’ to ‘my aniki’” comment?

This answer was a bit tricky: “そんなふうに思ってくれていたのを今この場で初めて知ったので正直恥ずかしいというのが一番の感想です。でもそんだけ思いがあるということで、それもこのベルトを争う闘いで出していければ、それも一つの強さになると思うので、必ず勝ちたいと思います.”

Mizunami: “I just now found out that she thinks of me like that, so to be honest, my main thought is that I’m embarrassed. But if that’s how she feels about it, if she can show those feelings while competing to win the belts, I think that’ll be one of our strengths, so we’re definitely going to win.”

――For Daisy Monkey, what do the two of you think about the match format and your opponents getting changed on New Year’s Eve?

I got tripped up a bit when initially trying to read this, but maybe I figured it out? “もちろん対戦相手はメチャメチャ変わっているし、それこそ歴代チャンピオンの白昼夢や、ユキさんもタッグベルトを持っていたことがあるし、水波さんの強さを私はシングルマッチで嫌というほど感じていたので、すごいことになったなみたいな気持ちは正直あったんですけど、でもベルトが欲しい気持ちは変わらないし、有栖もそうだなというのはわかっていたので、気持ちを切り替えるというよりは、ベルトに真っすぐというのはそのままです.”

Suzume: “Of course, our opponents are totally different, especially because Daydream are former champions, and Yuki-san has also held the tag belts before, and I’ve keenly felt Mizunami-san’s strength in our singles match, so I honestly felt like this had turned into a whole big thing, but my desire to win the belts hasn’t changed, and I know that Arisu feels the same, so rather than changing my mindset, I’m still just looking straight ahead at the belts.”

Arisu: “Obviously I was surprised, but I think the two of us can do it, so it’s alright.”

――Tatsumi and Endo, you’ll be facing Mizunami for the first time.

Arisu: “Watching Suzume-san’s singles match with her from up close, I thought ‘that’s someone amazing,’ and I was floored. She was incredible.”

I struggled with translating “腰抜かしました”, but I think maybe “I was floored” is an appropriate replacement?

Rika: “Since she first appeared in TJPW, she has a tremendous ability to draw us into Aniki’s world starting from the moment she enters, and I’ve always wanted to fight her, so I’m very excited and thrilled to have this opportunity to fight with the belts on the line.”

――Miu, two days after Ittenyon, you’ll be facing Tatsumi in a match to determine the number one contender. Does that affect anything?

Miu: “I haven’t really thought about it. A match with a lot of people entering? I don’t remember the word…”

Rika: “Battle royal.”

(Laughed at Miu forgetting the word, haha). Her answer was a bit confusing, though: “それだ。バトルロイヤルなので気にしてなかったですし、白昼夢って昨日のベストバウトニーサンのやつ(←#tjpwBB23 のこと)で闘ったやつがランクインしていたように、普段から割と闘ったり組んだりが何の抵抗もなくできたりするので、そういう意味では闘っているからこそ、お互いを定期的に知って、ずっと最強でいると思っています.”

Miu: “Ah, that’s it. Since it’s a battle royal, I’m not concerned. And for Daydream, the match where we fought each other ranked in yesterday’s Best Bout 23 (#tjpwBB23), and we regularly fight and team up with each other like that without feeling any reluctance, so in that sense, specifically because we’re fighting, we periodically familiarize ourselves with each other, and I think we’ll always be the strongest.”

And that’s it for that one!

Next up: Miyu vs Masha (transcript). Masha’s parts were in English, which made this a bit less work.

Masha: (in English) “My comment is very simple. Everybody in the world saw what I’m capable of in 2023. You saw me rank on the PWI, you saw me become world champion, and I’m sure everybody saw what I did to Rina Yamashita. And everybody saw what I did to you, at Combat Princess, when I drove Miyu here headfirst into the ground and came out victorious. So what makes you think that this belt isn’t going to be around my waist tomorrow? I hope you’re all ready for a new reign of a new champion. Welcome to my world.”

Yamashita: “First of all, Happy New Year! I’m really looking forward to fighting Masha in Japan with the TJPW belt on the line on January 4, our first show of the year. When I went abroad for that long stretch after March this year, I had the opportunity to visit a lot of states in the U.S., and Masha was there every time. Within the U.S., Masha’s presence as a wrestler looms large. During that time, I had two singles matches with Masha in the U.S., and with a score of 1-1, I’ve won and I’ve lost. When I came back home to Japan, I wanted to have a match with Masha here in Japan. I was constantly telling Koda-san that I wanted to do it, but Masha is a very popular wrestler in the U.S., and our schedules didn’t line up. But we’re finally getting a singles match this year, and I have the belt, so I’m really looking forward to fighting her in the best condition. I lost previously at Combat (Princess), and at the TJPW L.A. show, so I want to properly make up for those losses. Also, by defeating someone who has a big name in the U.S. in Japan, my presence in America and in Japan will become even bigger. I want to get a firm victory here.”

――If you win tomorrow in the match, what are your plans for the belt back in America?

Masha: (in English) “My plan is very simple. I’m gonna take this belt around the world, and I’m gonna defend it and become the longest reigning champion that the history of this belt has ever seen.”

――You said that you were constantly asking representative Koda for a singles match with Masha. You are confident that you can give a match that is such high quality?

Yamashita: “Yes, I am. Because she’s a very exciting opponent.”

This was tricky: “アメリカでもシングルは2回やってますけど、ホントに2つともマーシャの奥深さというか…選手としてここはこうだなって思ってたら2回目に闘うと全然違う技を出してきたりとか、リズムも違うので。日本で3回目になりますけど、新たなマーシャの強さが見れるんじゃないかなと思うので。そこで生まれてくる私の強さもたぶんあると思うので、そこは私が上回って勝ちたいと思っています.”

“So I wanted us to have a match in Japan as well. We’ve had two singles matches in the U.S., but in just those two matches, I saw the depth she has… Just when I thought ‘this is what she can do as a wrestler,’ the second time we fought, she brought out totally different moves, and her rhythm was also different. In Japan, this will be our third match, but I think you’ll get to see Masha bring entirely new strengths to the table. I think my own strength will probably come out there, so I want to surpass her and get the win.”

――You are once again defending against a foreign wrestler. Do you feel any pressure due to the risk of the belt slipping away overseas?

Yamashita: “There is some pressure, but it’s one that I enjoy.”

The first sentence here in particular was hard: “このベルトを取るのが4回目なので、ある程度のリスクを背負うくらいやらないと、いままで自分が初代で取ってから色んなチャンピオンが生まれてきて。どんどんこのベルトが上に分厚くなって、存在も濃ゆくなっているので。これくらいしないと自分のチャンピオンとしての存在も、お客さんもワクワクさせられないので.”

“This is my fourth time winning this belt, so I have to be willing to take on a certain amount of risk. There have been lots of champions since I was the first person to win it. Because this belt has been getting heavier and heavier, its presence is also becoming stronger. If I don’t do this, I can’t get excited about being the champion, and I won’t be able to excite the audience, either. The risks that come along with it… I feel the pressure, yes, but I want to have fun and overcome it.”

――It’s a yearly tradition for TJPW to have a show on the morning of January 4, and you’ll be in the main event this time. What do you feel going into this main event for such a very important show of the year?

Masha: (in English) “I think that Korakuen Hall has a special energy, and especially being in the main event of such a big show in such a historic location has an incredible energy. So I think that there’s nothing that’s going to stop me, and there’s nothing that I’m not willing to do to get that belt tomorrow.”

And that’s it for that one! Lastly, Max The Impaler vs Yuki Arai (transcript).

On January 3, the contract signings for the three major title matches at the January 4 Korakuen Hall show was held in Suidobashi, Tokyo. As usual, the contract signing for the International Princess Championship was held without the champion, Max The Impaler. The challenger Yuki Arai was the only one present, and with ring announcer Sayuri Namba presiding over the signing, she signed the contract and expressed her determination.

“This will be my second time challenging for the International Princess belt, and my first time challenging in two years. Last time I challenged (Maki) Itoh, but this time I’ll be challenging Max. This will be my first singles match with a foreign wrestler, and since my opponent is Max, I have a lot of fear… Just one year ago, at Ittenyon Korakuen, they’re the person who took the tag belts from AA Cannon, and since I wasn’t able to fight Max after that, I wasn’t able to get my revenge.”

I didn’t really have trouble with the meaning for this, but it was a bit tricky to come up with a good translation: “AA砲の2人の気持ちを私が背負ってリベンジしたいと思いますし、2024年チャンピオンになっていいスタートを切って、プロレスラーとしても輝ける1年にしたいと思うので。荒井がベルトを取りたいと思います.”

“I want to get my revenge while carrying the feelings of both members of AA Cannon with me, and I want to start off 2024 with a bang by becoming champion, and make this a year in which I shine as a pro wrestler. I want to win that belt.”

As soon as Arai finished her comment, the Impaler appeared at the press conference with a roar.

This was another tricky to translate part, as I had to do some sentence rearranging haha: “そして昨年の1・4後楽園ホール大会にてプリンセスタッグ王座とともに荒井から奪ってコスチュームの一部にしていた髪飾りを机に叩きつけて何やら挑発.”

Then, as a form of provocation, they slammed Arai’s hair ornament onto the table. It had come from her gear, and they had taken it from her along with the Princess Tag Titles at the Korakuen Hall show on January 4 last year. When ring announcer Namba nervously requested their signature, they rubbed a fingerprint on the sheet to complete the signing. They then took the hair ornament, showed it to Arai, then grabbed the belt and left.

The 仕組み的 part of this was tricky: “あれ(髪飾り)は1年前、ベルトを獲られた時に取られた私の衣装なんですよ。だから…その仕組み的にいうと負けてしまって取られたので、勝てば取り返せるみたいな感じですか?”

Arai: “That (hair ornament), they took it from me last year when they won the belts. It’s part of my costume. So… the setup is that I lost and had it taken from me, so does that mean I can get it back if I win? I haven’t been able to use that hairpin for a long time, and the fans have been sad, so I’ll do my best to win it back.”

I also wasn’t quite sure about this: “今の一連の流れを見ても気持ちは揺るがない?”

――Despite the current series of events, do you feel unshaken?

Arai: “I was quite surprised just now, but… I’m sure that I’ll be alright once I step into the ring, and I’m going to strongly believe in myself tomorrow.”

――Are you worried about being able to defeat them?

Arai: “In all of Max’s matches that I’ve seen, they’ve never lost, and their incredible power… I’ve seen a lot of matches where they show that power in different ways. I felt a fresh sense of just how scary of a wrestler they are, but since no one has beaten them, I think it would be awesome if I won. I’m sure there’s a way to win somewhere, and I want to find it.”

――You talked about carrying AA Cannon with you. If you win the belt, are you going to report back to Akai?

Arai: “Yes. I want her to shower me with praise.”

And that’s it for that one!

Next up: the actual Ittenyon translation! …Which will probably take me several days, haha, because it’s long :sweat_smile:

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