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

[rodan]

@fallynleaf

It seems that it’s largely a fashion designer project, which is honestly kind of darkly funny because the fashion on those shows is… uh… well, it’s not very good . In my opinion, the costumes (and I’ll call them that and not “gear” because they very much feel like cheap costumes) are worse in basically every conceivable way compared to the wrestlers’ normal gear.

They don’t look well-designed for an athlete to actually wrestle in, the fabric looks cheap, and the designs aren’t even interesting enough to make up for that. They also lack the individuality of the wrestlers’ own unique styles and make the characters feel interchangeable and flat.

Yeah, it would be one thing if the costumes were at least cool as ring gear…

Looking around at English pieces on it myself and yeesh yeah… the vibe reminds me of a Roy Lichtenstein painting, come to think of it – like (not said in so many words, but it ends up being the message I get from e.g.), “look we’ve made these low culture professionals into a fashionable pop art piece, how nice!” when they’re already super cool artists before you did anything. At least the wrestlers’ case they’re presumably paid something. I hope it’s a lot.

I feel like I was a lot more willing to extend benefit of the doubt before reading all these articles, with the thinking that hey, maybe the wrestlers get to come up with their own characters, etc. But the way it’s talked about in these, no, it’s the co-founder’s characters. It also honestly really bugs me that they don’t ever seem to give the wrestler’s professional name when mentioned in these, just the name of the Sukeban character. It’s not like they’re building a rock solid kayfabe or anything, and those are professional artists! Who you can go watch if you like their work!! Ah well.

About the ‘joshi’ stuff – Oh yeah, I’ve definitely been overcorrecting in trying to avoid it almost entirely, and there’s definitely plenty of circumstances where it makes total sense or would be unavoidable. That was honestly mostly just something I’ve been mulling over internally for a while that ended up as a tangent in the Sukeban article summary.

I’ve thought of the ‘luchador’ comparison too and it is definitely a compelling example. I do wonder though if I closely followed professional wrestling in Mexico and understood Spanish, if I might be similarly more sensitive to those terms being mis-used, or used dismissively/exociticizingly, as it does seem like they certainly can be… but of course it would be silly and dismissive in its own way to completely avoid the terms entirely.

I think the closest thing to an argument I can come up with for why the case of joshi pro wrestling is different, is ‘joshi’ being a normal word in Japanese that means something else. Like ‘joshi pro wrestling’ is the loan word and is completely fine on its own, and then ‘joshi’ derives out of that in a way that makes sense because of how loan words work but isn’t my favorite thing stylistically. At least two of the articles on Sukeban I was browsing through interpreted ‘joshi’ alone as the term for the art form / industry in Japan and used it like “joshi is a phenomenon in Japan” and it’s definitely petty and harmless but it did bug me a little to read (and ‘joshi’ alone as a noun for a pro wrestler is probably the usage I’m most reticent to use myself). I also don’t personally favor ‘puroresu’ or ‘puro’ as a shorthand for Japanese wrestling, since knowing some Japanese… c’mon, it’s just ‘pro wrestling’. プロレス actually pronounced sounds far more like ‘pro wres’ than pronouncing ‘puroresu’ out in English…

Descriptively of course, the loan word has no need to follow the usage in the original language at all and that’s completely fine and even good, but I do think in these cases sometimes the word choice that reads as a special foreign sounding term can sometimes to varying degrees read as more of a barrier or foreign marker in a negative sense, vs. the word choice just going with the straightforward translation of what the words mean in Japanese. But it of course is totally circumstantial and I wouldn’t begrudge anyone else’s well-intentioned word choice, and worrying about it at all is probably just an overreaction on my part against a few occasional goobers!

On the subject of shortcuts when typing - I confess I was impressed with the thing Tetsuya Naito said in one of his columns a while back about always saying the full Los Ingobernables de Japon instead of LIJ, in case someone was hearing it for the first time and still think about it pretty regularly. Even though I don’t really expect a wide audience to read those Shupro notes for example (and probably don’t want them to, the internet pro wrestling fandom being what it is…) and they’re ultimately just personal notes, I do try to take that a little bit to heart and stop myself from say, just using a last name instead of a full name when introducing the next interview, or shortening a championship title etc. It’s probably not enough to actually make any of it remotely comprehensible to someone who doesn’t already come in knowing plenty about the Japanese pro wrestling industry, but hey. And so anyway, probably the over dry and particular register of trying to precisely summarize a bunch of reporting being my primary output wordcount-wise has influenced my ponderings on the subject as well!

[rodan]

週刊プロレス No.２２６９ (from October 2023)

[rodan]

週刊プロレス No.２２７０ (from October 2023)

[fallynleaf]

@rodan

Looking around at English pieces on it myself and yeesh yeah… the vibe reminds me of a Roy Lichtenstein painting, come to think of it – like (not said in so many words, but it ends up being the message I get from e.g.), “look we’ve made these low culture professionals into a fashionable pop art piece, how nice!” when they’re already super cool artists before you did anything. At least the wrestlers’ case they’re presumably paid something. I hope it’s a lot.

I feel like I was a lot more willing to extend benefit of the doubt before reading all these articles, with the thinking that hey, maybe the wrestlers get to come up with their own characters, etc. But the way it’s talked about in these, no, it’s the co-founder’s characters. It also honestly really bugs me that they don’t ever seem to give the wrestler’s professional name when mentioned in these, just the name of the Sukeban character. It’s not like they’re building a rock solid kayfabe or anything, and those are professional artists! Who you can go watch if you like their work!! Ah well.

Yeah, it definitely has the vibe of trying to like “save” joshi wrestling by filtering it through a non-Japanese person’s vision of it, and I think part of that is trying to isolate their version of it from the existing industry, which means they want their core fanbase to experience their characters exclusively through them. Despite the WWE criticisms in at least one of these articles, it’s a very WWE-ish attitude.

Something that stood out to me when I watched their first show was all the riot grrrl music used as entrance themes. I’m someone with a legitimate interest in riot grrrl subculture (it was before my time, but it was centered around the pacific northwest (where I grew up), and it incorporated a lot of zine culture, so I researched it a fair amount when I was in grad school, and have attended lectures by a researcher specializing in riot grrrl zine librarianship (shout out to Janice Radway!)) as well as joshi wrestling, so you’d think I’d be all about that, right? But instead it came across to me as profoundly hollow.

Both riot grrrl subculture and joshi wrestling were and are grounded in their own time and place in history, and what resistance looks like in both of those worlds is very different. It feels like Sukeban applying riot grrrl to joshi wrestling was their attempt at placing a white American symbol of “girl power” over a Japanese cultural thing in order to whitewash it and make it “feminist” because in its natural Japanese form it must necessarily be regressive.

@rodan

I’ve thought of the ‘luchador’ comparison too and it is definitely a compelling example. I do wonder though if I closely followed professional wrestling in Mexico and understood Spanish, if I might be similarly more sensitive to those terms being mis-used, or used dismissively/exociticizingly, as it does seem like they certainly can be… but of course it would be silly and dismissive in its own way to completely avoid the terms entirely.

Something else to keep in mind, going with the “luchador” example, is that not all luchadores are Mexican. Stephanie Vaquer, for instance, is a luchadora who has wrestled most of her career in Mexico, but she’s Chilean, not Mexican. So I prefer “luchadores” and “lucha libre” because they feel more inclusive to me rather than “Mexican pro wrestling”, even if “Mexican” is being used to refer to the style and not the nationality of the people doing that style.

Obviously you can just call Stephanie a “woman wrestler” and drop the “lucha” signifier, and that’s totally valid, but I feel like there are times where it’s more useful to talk about luchadores as a group because they sometimes face unique challenges due to wrestling a style that is often not respected as much as other styles (you can criticize WWE’s or AEW’s treatment of luchadores as a whole, for example), or having their identities racialized by groups like CMLL, resulting in situations where CMLL wouldn’t allow their wrestlers to wrestle non-CMLL Hispanic wrestlers (but white wrestlers who were current champs of CMLL’s rival promotion AAA are totally fine).

I guess getting back to “joshi”, I would for instance call Kira a joshi wrestler but not a “Japanese woman wrestler” (because she’s not Japanese). She’s being brought up in the joshi style, lives in Japan and trains in a Japanese women’s wrestling dojo, and her wrestling background is indistinguishable from many joshi wrestlers.

From my own experience, a lot of the exoticization that I see is people seeing wrestling style as a result of a wrestler’s race rather than a product of the environment that said wrestler was raised in. Here’s where you’ll see people talking about “joshis” being “built different” or whatever, like referring to them being able to tough out rough bumps more than American women wrestlers, or working harder or being naturally more talented due to being Japanese.

I think a much less problematic way to talk about it is by acknowledging how the Japanese women’s wrestling industry sets up these women to put on these kinds of performances in a way that sets them apart from women trained in other circumstances. So I guess keeping the focus on “joshi” as the style and not as an indicator of race/gender. Therefore Kira is a joshi wrestler, and Mao from DDT can do a “joshi bridge out of a pin”, as I think Mr. Haku described it. And in that sense, I do find the loanword “joshi” to be useful and don’t feel that it can be easily replaced.

@rodan

I think the closest thing to an argument I can come up with for why the case of joshi pro wrestling is different, is ‘joshi’ being a normal word in Japanese that means something else. Like ‘joshi pro wrestling’ is the loan word and is completely fine on its own, and then ‘joshi’ derives out of that in a way that makes sense because of how loan words work but isn’t my favorite thing stylistically.

I guess my argument for this is that a loanword is pretty much never equivalent to the word in the language it was taken from, haha. Like, “女子” and “joshi” are not the same word, despite being pronounced roughly the same and one being derived from another.

A “コンビニ” is not perfectly equivalent to “konbini”, for instance, and 酒 is certainly not equivalent to “sake”. Usually the loanword ends up acquiring a more specific meaning, though sometimes it can be quite different in comparison to the word it originally came from, like マンション being the classic example.

When I first started studying Japanese, I saw some advice somewhere to treat all katakana loanwords as words you had to learn in their own right without treating them as basically like “freebies” that you already know because you know the English word, and the longer I’ve studied Japanese, the more correct I feel that advice is.

So in English, “joshi” is simply a different word than “女子”, and has its own associations and connotations. Like, “AEW女子世界王座” is “AEW Women’s World Championship” whereas “東京女子プロレス” is “Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling” even though you would use “女子” for both in Japanese.

@rodan

At least two of the articles on Sukeban I was browsing through interpreted ‘joshi’ alone as the term for the art form / industry in Japan and used it like “joshi is a phenomenon in Japan” and it’s definitely petty and harmless but it did bug me a little to read (and ‘joshi’ alone as a noun for a pro wrestler is probably the usage I’m most reticent to use myself).

Yeah, I’m also not a super big fan of that because it feels like the meaning drift has started to get too far away from the context of the word in Japanese where it feels almost too abstracted. I also don’t tend to use “joshi” alone as a noun for a pro wrestler just because I feel like I very rarely see that in Japanese? Like, I see 女子レスラー and 女子のプロレス, but rarely “女子” alone as a noun referring to a pro wrestler. I feel like it would feel a bit demeaning? Joshi wrestlers are 選手 just like the men.

@rodan

I also don’t personally favor ‘puroresu’ or ‘puro’ as a shorthand for Japanese wrestling, since knowing some Japanese… c’mon, it’s just ‘pro wrestling’. プロレス actually pronounced sounds far more like ‘pro wres’ than pronouncing ‘puroresu’ out in English…

Yeah, I’m also not a fan of “puro” as a shortener either haha though admittedly for me it’s mainly because the most annoying people on the internet use it a lot…

I guess I avoid “Teej” and “Nooj” for similar reasons, hahaha.

Even as someone who does generally think that Japanese pro wrestling is the best style of pro wrestling, I suppose I don’t like the air of superiority of many people who use “puro”. I feel like it comes with a smugness that I don’t see with like lucha libre fan accounts, for example. (You get it sometimes with joshi wrestling, too, though).

I think there’s certainly a lot to criticize about American pro wrestling, for instance, but I don’t like it when people see certain styles as like a contagion. I think pro wrestling is so good precisely because it’s global, and because different cultures’ styles influence each other. There are plenty of bad parts of アメプロ, but there’s also good stuff there, too, and I hate it when western fans complain about American wrestlers visiting Japanese promotions or getting booked strongly or whatever (obviously if you personally dislike an individual wrestler, complaining is fine, but there are many people who object on principle to the featuring of foreigners).

So I guess where the language thing comes down to for me is I dislike dehumanizing language or language that puts certain styles forth as superior or the default (I try to specify “American pro wrestling” when I’m talking about that, for instance, rather than using just “pro wrestling” to mean American wrestling, while other styles require an adjective. For me, Japanese pro wrestling is honestly more my default image of pro wrestling anyway…), but I do like to use language for clarifying styles and traditions that wrestlers come from because I think it’s useful to use the language that those styles and traditions themselves use for what they do.

American and Japanese fans alike will chant “lucha!”/“ルチャ！” to show their appreciation for a luchador’s performance and for the style as a whole, and to me at least it’s cool that both of those cultures/languages have adopted another language’s term to talk about the performers’ work rather than trying to fold it into their existing worldview.

[fallynleaf]

Got not quite halfway though the translation for the TJPW June 9 Korakuen Hall show. I doubt I’ll finish it before the next show, but hopefully I’ll get close.

First match for this one was Runa/Haru vs Daisy Monkey, which was a whole lot of fun! I’d love to see Runa and Haru become tag champs someday, and I hope they stick it out with wrestling.

Daisy Monkey’s comments:

Both: “We won!”

Arisu: “We were in the opening match for the first time in a long time.”

Suzume: “I like to be the first batter.”

Arisu: “I’m pretty happy today.”

This was tricky: “なんならハルルナに取られちゃったねとか言ってたね（笑）”

“We were talking about it like ‘What if HaruRuna steal the win from us?’” (laughs)

Suzume: “That’s why I was so happy to serve as the first batter at Korakuen Hall alongside you. It was fun, huh?”

Arisu: “Yeah!”

I also wasn’t sure what this comment was about, exactly: “超笑顔だもん.”

“We’re smiling too much.”

Suzume: “We’re in top form, so I’m confident we’ll be able to defend our belts no matter who comes forward! Anyone is welcome!”

Arisu: “Bring it on! No matter who!”

Haru/Runa’s comments:

This was confusing: “琉那と組んで現タッグチャンピオンのでいじーもんきーの2人とタッグマッチができて嬉しかったし、タッグチャンピオンになってからというより今年に入って2人と闘うことができたので、久しぶりの感覚というか。やっぱ強いなと思いました.”

Haru: “I’m happy to team up with Runa and have a match against Daisy Monkey, the current tag team champions, and we were able to fight them this year rather than after they became tag team champions, so it feels like it has been a while, or rather I felt that they’re still really strong. I still have such a long, long way to go, but becoming a champion is one of my goals, so facing the two of them makes me want to work even harder.”

Runa: “Thank you very much for my last match as a 15 year-old. Getting to team up with Haru at the tail end of my 15th year, and facing Suzume-san and Arisu-san who have the belts, this was like a present for me, and I hope to make good use of this experience to get stronger and one day team up with Haru to challenge for the belts. I’m going to do my best!”

After that was Chika vs Uta, with the first victory (or draw, I suppose) for both wrestlers on the line. I was totally rooting for Uta in this, haha, because her fire has really impressed me, but of course life is cruel to rookies . Chika got the win with a submission I don’t think I’ve ever seen before!

Chika’s comments:

Nanase: “I won. Thank you very much. Uta-chan’s fighting spirit was so strong and I was almost overwhelmed by it, but I think I was able to get the win without losing even in terms of spirit. I’m really happy that I was able to win the first singles match between the class of '24 members. But I’m not satisfied with just this, and I want to aim even higher. Thank you very much!”

(What was the move at the end?)

I think I got this? But I wanted to double-check: “1回新木場の時に出したんですけど、今回は完成形で。名前が一応、稲荷鳥居で。これからももっともっと出していけたらいいなって思います.”

“I brought it out once at Shin-Kiba, but this is its fully realized form. The name is tentatively Inari Dorii. I hope I can bust it out more and more going forward.”

I actually saw that Dramatic DDT had it down as “Inari Torii”, so I reached out to him and let him know that the reading of 稲荷鳥居 is actually いなりどりい. That’s how my dictionary had it (and google backs me up), and I’m also pretty sure I hear her say it like that in the clip. I’ve learned that I have to sort of nip mistakes on his show recap posts in the bud or those mistakes quickly spread to everyone else’s English coverage of TJPW…

Uta’s comments:

This was a bit tricky: “…今日は私がかってキラキラするって決めていたのに、ずっと私が勝つんだって思ってたけど…実際にやってみると終わってキラキラはできなくて、ボロボロになっちゃって。なんか、ずっと強いのは分かってたけど、こうやって1対1で闘うと私が負けちゃんだなって.”

Uta: “I had decided that I was going to win and really shine today, but even though I thought the whole time that I was going to win… in actual practice, it ended with me not shining at all and getting totally wrecked. I’ve known how strong she is this whole time, but fighting her one-on-one like this, she had me beat. It felt like there was a stark divide between us, which is really frustrating. But from here on out, losing here has got me even more fired up. I’m going to build up my strength so that the next time we do it, I’ll be able to win.”

It also took me a couple tries to maybe parse this sentence: “もっともっと…すぐに結果は出なくても、数年後に別人になっていられるくらい、1日1日を大切にして、努力して、絶対に次は勝とうと思います.”

“Even if I don’t get results right away, I’m going to cherish each day and work hard, to the extent that I become a different person in a few years, and I’m definitely going to win the next one.”

After that was the tag team that could not be realized in the U.S.! Nao got her chance to tag with Saki again . I thought this match was super fun! Saki did a really great job instantly adapting to the TJPW humor and played off of the other wrestlers really well. I really hope she’s able to do more in TJPW in the future.

Nao/Saki’s comments:

Kakuta: “Thank you very much!”

SAKI: “Thank you!”

Kakuta: “I’m so happy! We were able to fight alongside each other, and she saved me so many times.”

This part was a bit tricky: “助けていただいたおかげなんですけど、お客さんはSAKIさんをいっぱい堪能したんじゃないかなと思って.”

“Thanks to SAKI-san’s help, I think the audience really got their money’s worth.”

SAKI: “I was really looking forward to tagging with Nao-chan. In the previous era, if anything, we’d be standing on opposite corners, which is to say we didn’t team up very much…”

This next bit was a bit tricky to translate:

角田 ないかもです！

Kakuta: “Maybe not!”

SAKI ないかもでしょ？

SAKI: “Maybe not, right?”

角田 ないかも！

Kakuta: “Maybe not!”

SAKI このような機会を。

SAKI: “With an opportunity like this.”

Kakuta: “Thank you very much.”

SAKI: “We made it happen in Japan.” (laughs)

Kakuta: “We lost the chance to do it in America because I had to miss the show.”

SAKI: “But we could do it in Japan.”

Kakuta: “I’m happy that we could do it in TJPW.”

SAKI: “Thank you very much.”

Kakuta: “Thank you! I’m so happy!”

RakuPom’s comments:

Raku: (to Pom, who is unable to sit) “Your butt hurts?”

Pom: “I can’t sit down.”

Raku: “Why don’t you show your butt to me.”

Pom: “Will you look at it? It’s split in two!”

Raku: “Your butt is split in two?”

Pom: “That’s not good!”

Raku: “So did you use up all of your strength?”

This was a bit confusing: “これはもう絵本にして大変な事件だと残すべきかもしれない.”

Pom: “Maybe this is already a serious incident that is best left to being a picture book.”

I also wasn’t sure about how to translate Raku’s “せっかくだからね” remark.

Raku: “It’s tough, huh? I was all tangled up (in streamers), and then it was over before I noticed.”

Pom: “I lost the match! But what I regret is that I also lost in janken!” (Pom plays a game of janken with Raku and wins, ending their comments on that note)

After that was a kind of random trios match on paper: Aja Kong, Kira, and Kamiyu vs Itoh, Mahiro, and Kaya. It ended up being incredibly fun in practice, and I loved it! Aja’s team all entered with Aja-Kong-style facepaint, which Kamiyu had embellished with glitter around her eyes. Not to be outdone, Itoh’s team all entered with Itoh-style pigtails (well, pigtail in Mahiro’s case). I think my favorite part of the match, though, was actually the Kamiyu vs Mahiro exchange, because you could see how well they knew each other, haha.

Kong³’s comments (I went with that because it feels like a more natural way to say it than “Three-Kong” in English):

Aja: “We got the win with Kong³.” (to Kira) “You’re cute.”

Kira: “Thank you so much.”

All of this was a bit tricky:

上福 何も言ってもらえない！

Kamifuku: “She can’t say anything!”

アジャ 一斗缶セーフだったのに、なんで（鳥喰のドロップキックに）差し出した？

Aja: “Even though I didn’t hit you with the eighteen liter can, why’d you offer me up (to take Toribami’s dropkick)?”

上福 本当に勝ちを狙うにはアジャさんを使うしかないと思って。

Kamifuku: “I thought if we really wanted to win, I had to use Aja-san.”

アジャ 前回は蹴られ、今回は差し出され。組むと踏んだり蹴ったりなんだけど。

Aja: “Last time she kicked me, and this time she offered me up. When we team up, I get stepped on and kicked.”

Kamifuku: “No, no, I have faith in Aja-san.”

Aja: “If there is a next time, will you do it properly and make it the third time’s the charm?”

Kamifuku: “Yes, of course. I am famously not a liar.”

(Both I and the cameraperson laughed at this.)

This was a bit tricky:

アジャ まあまあ楽しかったね。楽しみながらやって、（上福が）勝って締めてくれたのでまあいいですけど、真弥が「アジャ」「アジャ」って。

Aja: “Well, it was fun, wasn’t it. We had a lot of fun while doing it, and (Kamifuku) won and wrapped it up, so I guess it’s alright, but Mahiro was like, ‘Aja’, ‘Aja’.”

上福 アイツ、パートナーなんですけど、鈍感力がメチャクチャなヤツなんでやってしまうんですけど、根は悪いヤツじゃないんで。

Kamifuku: “That girl, she’s my partner, but she’s really not the sharpest tool in the shed, so even though she does stuff like that, she’s not a bad person at heart.”

Aja: “Kira also worked hard.”

Kira: “This was my first win.”

Aja: “Even though it wasn’t by your own power, it was your first win. You got your first victory without wearing your own face, but I’m glad I could contribute. Also, it was just announced that I’ll be having a singles match with Shoko Nakajima at the next Korakuen.”

This was tricky: “この1ヵ月間、私、山籠もりをして対応しようと思います。そうしないと中島翔子になかなか通用しない！ 認めているというか本当にすごい選手なので、今日の楽しさとは違った意味の気の引き締め方をしようと思います.”

“So for the next month, I’ll be in the mountains training and coming up with countermeasures. If I don’t do that, I’ll have a hard time holding my own against Shoko Nakajima! I recognize her ability, or rather she’s a really amazing wrestler, so I will have to really focus my energy in a different sense from the fun that I had today.”

How about that Aja vs Shoko singles, huh? I’m excited for that!

Itoh³’s comments:

Toribami: “I’m disappointed.”

Itoh: “What day is it today?”

Mahiro: “June 9.”

Itoh: “June 9… the Itoh Respect Army is breaking up.”

Both: “Huh?? Why?”

This was a bit tricky: “アナタたちは何の戦力にもならない！ もうダメ！ 全然ダメ！ 全部持っていかれた.”

Itoh: “You guys have nothing to contribute! Useless! Totally useless! We brought everything. I thought we were definitely going to leave our mark today. But despite doing everything that we could, we lost as usual, so there’s nothing I can say. Their side was too strong.”

Mahiro: “In the end, which one was the real Aja-san?”

Itoh: “Even I didn’t really know. There were so many of them… I don’t know, either.”

This was a bit tricky: “すごく強い人に乗られました、私.”

Mahiro: “A very strong person got on top of me.”

Itoh: “Really? A super strong person hit me, too… That scrambled my memory.”

Toribami: “After the eighteen liter can came out, who did I attack…?”

This was a case of it being tricky to put into English: “全然わからない…。というわけで今日の敗因はみんなアジャのペースでした.”

Itoh: “I have no idea. So the reason we lost today was because everyone fought like Aja. Let’s go home. We’re breaking up today.”

Both: “Let’s work together again, please.”

After that was Moka vs Hikaru Shida from AEW! I thought this was a fun one! My focus flagged a bit at the start because I had enjoyed the last one so much, but they reeled me back in by the end.

Shida’s comments:

Shida: “Thank you very much.”

I had a bit of trouble translating this: “いやぁ…いいね.”

“Well… that was nice. I participated in TJPW for the first time in more than two years. Last time, I teamed up with Moka, and at the time, I thought she could be a great wrestler if she just showed a little more feeling. I was a bit cocky, a few years ago. I never thought she’d grow this much so soon. I can’t lose to her. I’ve won belts in the U.S., and I feel that I’ve grown, but… TJPW is a threat. Having experienced that threat up close like this, will I become even stronger? When TJPW invites me again, I want to show you all a version of Hikaru Shida who has changed even more. So please look forward to it!”

Moka’s comments:

Miyamoto: “I had a singles match with Shida-san. I had teamed up with Shida-san once before, about two years ago, but this was my first time facing her. I wanted to seize this chance and make it my own. Even though I lost in the end, I was able to give it my all, and it was a match where I really felt that I’d grown more than before… So going forward, I also want to do title challenges and such in the future.”

That’s roughly the first half of the show! Hoping to get around to finishing the second half soon.

[rodan]

@fallynleaf

This was tricky: “なんならハルルナに取られちゃったねとか言ってたね（笑）”

“We were talking about it like ‘What if HaruRuna steal the win from us?’” (laughs)

I think this is ok - it seems like this use of なんなら not involving a proposal but just as a more general conditional is a language change happening most among the younger generations.

I would probably go with “You” instead of “We” because of her body language and tone saying it feels like jokingly reminding someone of something to me, but also if it were “We were talking about it like…” then it would presumably be with each other, but with the verb “We 言ってた” would read more as “we were saying that to you” rather than like ‘we were talking about it to each other.’ So it’s more natural to interpret it as Arisu was saying it, I think.

@fallynleaf

I also wasn’t sure what this comment was about, exactly: “超笑顔だもん.”

“We’re smiling too much.”

She points at her own face when she says it. (amusingly, after visibly noticing it when she was touching her own face)

So I’d go with something like “I can’t stop smiling!”
Incidentally, it sounds to me like “超笑顔だろう？” so “I can’t stop smiling, can I?” would be good too.

@fallynleaf

This was confusing: “琉那と組んで現タッグチャンピオンのでいじーもんきーの2人とタッグマッチができて嬉しかったし、タッグチャンピオンになってからというより今年に入って2人と闘うことができたので、久しぶりの感覚というか。やっぱ強いなと思いました.”

Haru: “I’m happy to team up with Runa and have a match against Daisy Monkey, the current tag team champions, and we were able to fight them this year rather than after they became tag team champions, so it feels like it has been a while, or rather I felt that they’re still really strong.

Haha, this one’s just an amusing transcriber ミス.
The video sounds to me like:
2人と闘うことができたので
should be:
2人と闘うことがなかったので
which I think you’ll agree makes it make much more sense. Haru fought Daisy Monkey since they became tag champions, or rather (correcting to a larger and more precise estimate), since the beginning of the year (so it feels like it’s been a long time).

I think she’s probably technically talking about herself here, incidentally, just since they’re not that regular of a team and so have different match histories.
Looking at cagematch, Haru last opposed either of Daisy Monkey in December (and both of Daisy Monkey together in April of 2023, while Runa fought Daisy Monkey and Haru in a 6-man in April of this year.

@fallynleaf

I think I got this? But I wanted to double-check: “1回新木場の時に出したんですけど、今回は完成形で。名前が一応、稲荷鳥居で。これからももっともっと出していけたらいいなって思います.”

“I brought it out once at Shin-Kiba, but this is its fully realized form. The name is tentatively Inari Dorii. I hope I can bust it out more and more going forward.”

Yeah seems fine!

@fallynleaf

SAKI: “I was really looking forward to tagging with Nao-chan. In the previous era, if anything, we’d be standing on opposite corners, which is to say we didn’t team up very much…”

This next bit was a bit tricky to translate:

角田 ないかもです！

Kakuta: “Maybe not!”

SAKI ないかもでしょ？

SAKI: “Maybe not, right?”

角田 ないかも！

Kakuta: “Maybe not!”

SAKI このような機会を。

SAKI: “With an opportunity like this.”

Here the ないかもです！ is filling in a finish to the unfinished sentence of what SAKI Was going to say: 組んだ(ことが)…
as in 組んだことがないかも - “it may well be we’ve never tagged together”

So ないかもです！ should be something like “Maybe never!”
followed by “Right? Maybe never!”
etc.

Then here:

SAKI このような機会を。
SAKI: “With an opportunity like this.”
Kakuta: “Thank you very much.”

SAKI is saying she’s really glad / thankful for the opportunity (since they’ve maybe never had it before). And her ending is implied / gets cut off (she says うれしい in the video) / is completed by what Kakuta says.
I would just fill it in in English: “I’m very glad for the opportunity” or some such.

@fallynleaf

This was a bit confusing: “これはもう絵本にして大変な事件だと残すべきかもしれない.”

Pom: “Maybe this is already a serious incident that is best left to being a picture book.”

Haha, I’m amused at the transcriber just quietly avoiding trying to transcribe Pom’s previous sentence to this which is said with very Pom-like energy

Anyway I would probably say this is saying like, it should be made into a picture book so as to be recorded (for posterity) as a terrible incident. that kind of 残す. Not exactly the same as ‘best left in a picture book (i.e. should not happen in real life).’
(I kind of like putting ‘posterity’ in there for the little extra bonus pun on ‘posterior’ haha).

@fallynleaf

I also wasn’t sure about how to translate Raku’s “せっかくだからね” remark.

Raku: “It’s tough, huh?

Maybe a little more like “It was tough, huh?” Like I think I would interpret it roughly as like “ah yeah since you went through so much trouble (might as well get a picture book out of it)”
Maybe “Since you went through such a tough time, yeah” or something if you want.

@fallynleaf

janken

should janken be translated to Rock Paper Scissors? I suppose the target audience’ll probably know it fine…

@fallynleaf

Kira: “Thank you so much.”

All of this was a bit tricky:

上福 何も言ってもらえない！

Kamifuku: “She can’t say anything!”

Haha, this part is a comment on how Aja looks over at Kira and compliments her:

And then looks over at Kiryu but turns back without saying anything

“I don’t get a compliment!” would probably be what I would go with.
Aja’s next comment is then prefaced with a 違う, she’s explaining what came to her head looking at Kamiyu that overrode the compliment she would have given otherwise.

@fallynleaf

上福 アイツ、パートナーなんですけど、鈍感力がメチャクチャなヤツなんでやってしまうんですけど、根は悪いヤツじゃないんで。

Kamifuku: “That girl, she’s my partner, but she’s really not the sharpest tool in the shed, so even though she does stuff like that, she’s not a bad person at heart.”

I think here she maybe (?) stops herself from saying just 鈍感 which this translate would fit great for, and swaps in the nicer, compliment-ized 鈍感力, which seems to be like insensitivity as in letting things slide off of you. Maybe something like “she can be very oblivious” would be slightly less mean while still matching the context of her mistaking Kira-Aja for Aja-Aja.

@fallynleaf

How about that Aja vs Shoko singles, huh? I’m excited for that!

…ってね

@fallynleaf

I had a bit of trouble translating this: “いやぁ…いいね.”

“Well… that was nice. I participated in TJPW for the first time in more than two years.

This one seems like another transcriber mistake to me. Her initial 二年 only sounds like いいね.
What she says in the video is:
いやぁ…二年ぶり？二年以上ぶりかな
”Wow, it’s been… two years? Or even longer since I last participated in TJPW.” would maybe be my attempt.

[fallynleaf]

@rodan

should janken be translated to Rock Paper Scissors? I suppose the target audience’ll probably know it fine…

Since ChocoPro keeps it as “janken”, I figure it’s probably safe for me to keep it as well (to the extent that “Rock Paper Scissors” in this context almost reads to me as an over-localization).

---

Well, the rest of this translation took longer than expected… I’ve been so extremely stressed and depressed for the past week, I’ve been basically unable to focus on anything. I forced myself to work on this because I didn’t want to fall too far behind, and I finally managed to complete it.

Looks like I left off on the match that was the '23 rookies (Wakana, Himawari, Shino, Toga) vs the top of the card (Mizuki, Rika, Shoko, Yuki Aino). I don’t remember this one super clearly, but I remember it being fun, and the Mizuki/Rika drama being entertaining as always.

Mizuki/Rika/Shoko/Yuki’s comments:

Rika: “I did it!”

This exchange was a bit difficult:

ユキ 私逃げて帰ってきたので、極力端っこにいさせてもらいます。

Yuki: “I ran away and came back, so I’m going to keep to the edge as much as possible.”

瑞希 みんな端っこにいきたい（と3人がリカを避ける）。

Mizuki: “Everyone wants to be at the edge.” (the three of them avoid Rika)

リカ ちょっとなんで連係できなかった？

Rika: “Why couldn’t we do a tag move together?”

瑞希（リカ以外は）いい感じだったですよね？

Mizuki: (excluding Rika) “That was nice, wasn’t it? The three of us.”

リカ あー！ おかしいですね。絆で勝ちにいったんですけど。おかしかったけど、勝てました。

Rika: “Ah! It’s strange, huh? I was going to win through the strength of our bond. It was a bit odd, but I did get the win.”

中島 年数だよ。

Nakajima: “For how many years…”

リカ 深まってきたので近くでね（と瑞希の手を握り出す）

Rika: “Our bond has deepened, so we’re close.” (she grabs Mizuki’s hand)

Mizuki: “…”

Rika: “I did it!”

Yuki: “It was fun!”

This line had me a bit confused: “対戦相手も勝ちに来た欲しいですね。俺たちを食うぐらい来て欲しいなと思いました.”

Rika: “I wanted our opponents to come win, too. I wanted them to come at us like they were going to eat us.”

Yuki: “Compared to around when they debuted, they wore great fighting expressions, so I was super pumped.”

Rika: “I was looking forward to it.”

I wasn’t sure about this, either: “まあね、そういうことですよ.”

Nakajima: “Well, that’s what I mean.”

(Nakajima, you are scheduled to have a match with Aja Kong at Korakuen in July)

Nakajima: “I’ve faced Aja-san several times, but this is the one-on-one I’ve dreamed of. I think it would be all for nothing if I didn’t win here, so no matter how the match goes, I want to win.”

(Aja said that she’ll be training in the mountains in preparation for her match with you)

Yuki: “That’s amazing!”

This was a bit tricky: “結構褒めてくださるんですよ。自分の方が学ばせていただいている…学ばせていただいているっていうけどボコボコにされているんですよ！（苦笑） めちゃくちゃボコボコにされているんですけど、その中でいろんな景色を見てきて。両国（国技館）の床とか、（がいせん桜プロレスでの）桜の木の下のお客さんのパイプ椅子の足元とか。アジャさんは見えなかった低いところも見せてくれるし、広いところも見せてくれるという選手。それで気づけたことがいっぱいあるから、もっと気づきたいなとワクワクしてます.”

Nakajima: “That’s quite the compliment. I’m the one learning from her… I say she’s making me learn, but I’m getting beat up a lot!” (laughs) “I’m getting wrecked, but I’m getting to see a lot of different sights in the meantime. The floor at Ryogoku (Kokugikan), the feet of the audience’s folding chairs beneath the cherry trees (at Gaisen Sakura Pro Wrestling). Aja-san is a wrestler who shows me both the low to the ground places that I couldn’t see, and also the vast wide places. And so there are a lot of things that I have perceived because of her, and I’m excited to experience even more.”

Yuki: “Shoko Nakajima is gonna do it!”

Rika: “We’ll be rooting for you.”

I couldn’t quite figure out how to translate this:

ユキ 私らのカードはなんだ！

Yuki: “What even is our match?”

瑞希 なんだ！

Mizuki: “Dunno!”

The class of '23’s comments:

Uehara: “Our class of '23 team, who all debuted around a year or a year and a half ago, got to face the top wrestlers in TJPW, and I really felt how tall of a wall they were in that match. But I think we will have to overcome that wall someday. Haru and Runa worked hard today, too, and I hope we can all work hard together so that we can overcome that wall.”

HIMAWARI: “Since our senpais came right at us, we did everything that we’re capable of right now, so I want to grow more and more from here, and I want to surpass them.”

Toga: “We grow every time we fight, but our senpais also keep growing, so every time we have a match, I feel like the distance between us isn’t getting any smaller. Someday, even though our senpais keep progressing, I think we’ll be able to gain momentum and close that gap little by little. Since we have juniors that are a year below us, I hope we can become a wall like our own senpais, even if it’s a small one.”

This seemed like a bit of an odd sentence to me: “先輩方と闘って遠い未来だったとしても、私もああやって先輩のように強くなると今日心に誓いました.”

Shino: “I made a vow to myself today that even if it’s in the far distant future when I fight my senpais, I’m going to become strong like them. I’m going to do my best!”

After that match was Yuki Arai vs LA Taylor, which didn’t leave a particularly strong impression on me. I thought she seemed like a scarier opponent in the next VOD show when she was up against smaller wrestlers, rather than facing Arai. Though it’s hard for a big scary foreigner to be bigger or scarier than Max The Impaler… I think I did still have a moment where I wondered if Arai would drop the belt, though, similarly to how Itoh lost it in sort of a shock upset. But nope, not yet!

Arai’s comments:

Arai: “I defended my belt!”

I wasn’t quite sure about this: “ホントに自分がどうなってるか分かんない状況、時間がとても長くて.”

“I was in a state where I really had no idea what was happening to me for a long time. Not only Taylor’s size, but also her strength and the amount of moves in her repertoire, I really experienced everything in this match. This time, I was able to seize a momentary opening and defend my belt, but if we had to fight again, I’d be really scared. She’s the kind of opponent I never want to fight again, if I can help it… But if we meet again, I’m going to refine my techniques, and I’ll be waiting. This was my third defense, and I’ve already held the belt for half a year, so of course I want to keep defending it, but I’m also going to aim higher and higher, without being satisfied with where I’m at here, and I want to refine myself as a pro wrestler even more in my fourth year. Thank you very much.”

(What are you thinking about specifically?)

“TJPW is not just about this belt, so there are still other things, like the tag belts that I held with Akai-san. I think if I could get those without Akai-san, I’d be able to feel my own growth. So I want to aim for belts beside this one.”

(As far as the tag belts are concerned, you don’t have a partner?)

“That’s right. I haven’t had a partner since I was teaming up with Akai-san as AA Cannon, but I would be happy if I could find a good partner with whom we could each improve each other.”

LA Taylor’s comments were in English:

(You just made your Japan debut. Unsuccessful attempt at the International Princess Championship, probably a mixed bag of feelings right now, how are you feeling right now?)

Taylor: “I am grateful, and honored to have wrestled in the world-famous Korakuen Hall, and that cannot be taken from me.” (Mr. Haku translates) “Yuki Arai is a fantastic champion, and I hope to fight her again.”

(What was it like to wrestle in Japan? This is your first time in Japan, right?)

“It was everything that it was supposed to be. Everything that I had ever thought it would be, it was. The fans are so gracious and giving, and I always dreamt of the moment that I would have ribbons… And I had ribbons! And I was so grateful… that moment where I stood there, and the ribbons come over, that will be in my mind forever.”

(They did these English comments after the show was over (because Mr. Haku was on English commentary), which made for an easier listening experience.)

The main event was Miu vs VertVixen, which was I think my favorite VertVixen match I’ve seen so far! I thought she did a great job here, and Miu was good as always. I was never really in doubt that she’d defend her belt, though.

I was a bit surprised to see Rika challenge for Summer Sun Princess. Some part of me was expecting her to win the TPC and get the title shot at Wrestle Princess, but then again, Summer Sun Princess has always sort of felt like Rika’s show, lol. Maybe she’ll actually do it this time!

Here’s the in ring:

Tatsumi: “Miu, you’re strong! REALLY strong. So, why don’t you fight me with that belt on the line?”

I wasn’t totally sure about this: “いつか、未詩がチャンピオンで闘っている時に私がタイトルマッチ（挑戦）したいなって思ってて。でもいつかって言ってたらずっとこないから、いましかないって思うから…やろう！”

“I thought, ‘I’d like to have a title match with Miu someday when she’s the champion’. But if I say ‘someday’, it’ll never actually happen, so I think it’s now or never… let’s do it! Of course it’s OK with you, right?” (without waiting for Miu to answer) “Alright! Then do you know when our next Korakuen show is? Next month? Yes, let’s do it on July 20 at Korakuen!”

This was a bit tricky to put in English: “え…日付まで？ 挑戦者が？”

Miu: “Huh? Even the date? The challenger?”

Tatsumi: “You’ll do it, right?”

Miu: “…I’ll do it! I also wanted to fight you someday for this belt, so I will fine-tune myself by that day, July 20. I won’t lose.”

Tatsumi: “It’s now or never. I’m looking forward to it.”

Miu: “Likewise.”

The two of them shake hands and pose for a photo, then Tatsumi leaves, shouting “OK!”

This was a bit tricky: “えー！ ちょっと…まだビクセンサンキューみたいな余韻に浸りたかったんですよ.”

Miu: “Huh?? I was… trying to enjoy the afterglow, like ‘Vixen, thank you’. But I get it. Rika-san never takes no for an answer, and she’s always at the center of her world, so nothing can be done about that. The match with Vixen was really tough, but I can’t soak in the afterglow of such a tough match this time. On July 20, right here at Korakuen Hall, I want to pack the venue, and I want all of you to come cheer so loud that you run out of oxygen and have difficulty breathing, so please come support me. I’m looking forward to it. After becoming champion and achieving V2, I’ve finally decided how I want to close. Yay!”

After explaining it, she closed the show with: “Thank you so much for today! Everyone, do you like TJPW?” “We love it!”

(Some other parts were a bit tricky, but Mr. Haku’s translations helped me with those.)

Miu’s comments:

Miu: “I successfully achieved V2 at the June 9 Korakuen show. Yay!”

Another one of these Miu lines that always seems to give me trouble… “正直、ビクセン戦が決まった時は、このベルトでもインターナショナル？ 世界？ ワールドな人が来るんだって思ってちょっと動揺していたんですけど.”

“To be honest, when the match with Vixen was set, I thought, ‘Is this belt international, too? Global?’ I was a bit shaken at the thought of someone coming from out in the world. But it’s certainly true that many foreign wrestlers have aimed for this belt, and Vixen has come to TJPW a lot before today, and with each strike, I felt how prepared she was to carry this belt, so of course I couldn’t let my guard down even a bit in this match. But I want to spread TJPW to more and more people, and I want to spread it to the world, and of course to Japan as well. When I think about what I want that to look like, I want TJPW to get bigger and bigger until it reaches the point where it’s ubiquitous in everyone’s living room. From here, once I was safely past the Vixen match, I was thinking that I’d be ready for anyone to come… and then Rika-san came. But I will do my best on July 20. For the remaining month, I’m going spend it thinking about the belt as I approach the match with Rika-san.”

(In the past, you lost your International Princess Championship to Tatsumi)

“Yes, I did. I lost it to her (last year) in March at Ariake. At that time, too, she came when I was holding the belt, from behind. That’s why I lost… I have fought many of my senpais, but I have never been able to beat Rika-san.”

This was a bit tricky: “どこかリカさんに頼ってしまう自分とかも…1年目の時からずっと私のタッグパートナーなので。今回は自分がどこまでできるのかって、自分にも挑んでいきたいです.”

“Some part of me has been relying on Rika-san… she’s been my tag partner since my first year. This time, I also want to challenge myself; I want to see how far I can go.”

(You unveiled a new way of closing the show)

“It’s cute, huh? Isn’t it?”

(Yes…)

This was tough: “やっぱり私色々考えたんですけど、いつもいつも『大好きです！』って言ってるけど、みんなにも言ってほしいなと思ったのと同時に、みんなにも声を出してほしいなって思ったし。こういうのがあるのって、私もアイドルの現場とかで『会場で言いたい！』って思うと思うので。ぜひおうちの前で見ているあなた、会場に言いに来たくなってください.”

“I thought about it a lot, but, well, I’m always saying ‘I love you!’ I wanted everyone to say it, and at the same time, I wanted them to shout it out. I thought people would think ‘I want to say it at the venue!’ for my idol work and such, too. So I hope you, who are watching in front of your house, will come to the venue to say it. I’ll be waiting!”

Vert’s comments were in English:

(How was the match, the title shot, main event Korakuen Hall? I’m sure it’s a mixed bag of feelings, but how are you feeling right now?)

Vixen: “Yes, I am feeling a lot of emotions right now. I’m still feeling the excitement from getting to main event next to Miu here at Korakuen Hall, something that I honestly thought that I would never have the opportunity to do, especially for the Princess of Princess Championship. And I knew, I knew that Miu was going to be a challenge. Boy, not only is she strong, she’s agile, she’s quick. She really is an incredible champion, and I am so grateful to have faced her today.” (Mr. Haku translates) “Yes, um… But I have to say this: this is not the last time you will see me at Korakuen, and this is not the last time that I will try to get that Princess of Princess Championship. Because me, VertVixen, Player 1, I’m ready to be a champion here in Japan, and show everyone here that this is where I belong.”

Rika’s comments:

Tatsumi: “I once had the Princess of Princess belt, but it was taken from me before I could complete my goals. So I thought that I should bloom out of season, and my body moved on its own.”

This was tricky: “相手はタッグパートナーである未詩ではあるんですけど、だからこそ最高峰の闘いができたならと思って。もっと未詩並に、それ以上にムキムキになろうと思って鍛え直して挑みます。みんな、よろしくお願いします！”

“My opponent is my tag partner Miu, but that’s exactly why I thought we could have a top-level battle. I am going to reforge myself to be as ripped as Miu, if not more so, for the title challenge. Everyone, please look forward to it!”

(What do you think of the champion Miu?)

“She’s really incredible, or rather she’s invincible. Her road of defenses has been really interesting, and it made me want to fight a monster like that, so I think I’ll have to knock her lights out if I don’t want to lose to her.”

(Your past singles history is overwhelmingly in your favor)

“It’s true that I’ve never lost to Miu in our past matches, so I think I’m her natural enemy. I don’t think she can beat me.”

That’s it for that one.

I started on the first of the VOD show translations, but I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to work on it this weekend. Hopefully the next show won’t have too much to translate…

[rodan]

@fallynleaf

Well, the rest of this translation took longer than expected… I’ve been so extremely stressed and depressed for the past week, I’ve been basically unable to focus on anything. I forced myself to work on this because I didn’t want to fall too far behind, and I finally managed to complete it.

Sorry this week’s been so rough!! I hope things get more manageable soon.

@fallynleaf

ユキ 私逃げて帰ってきたので、極力端っこにいさせてもらいます。

Yuki: “I ran away and came back, so I’m going to keep to the edge as much as possible.”

瑞希 みんな端っこにいきたい（と3人がリカを避ける）。

Mizuki: “Everyone wants to be at the edge.” (the three of them avoid Rika)

Here they’re referring to the joke of the match where Rika attacked her non-Mizuki teammates in order to try to force it to be a Rika+Mizuki tag team match. (that’s why she/the others are trying to sit far away from Rika on the bench)

The only specific tweak I would make, is I think Yuki’s 逃げて帰ってきた is talking about her fleeing Rika one last time at the end:

Like I think the 逃げて帰ってきた is like, “I fled backstage” as opposed to something like “I fled but then returned.”
I googled around for uses of the phrase and it seemed to support that, with it used in contexts like e.g. running away and surviving a bombing in WW2.

@fallynleaf

中島 年数だよ。

Nakajima: “For how many years…”

It’s kind of lost in the crosstalk but I believe here she’s talking about the 絆 and talking it up like, “we’ve fought together for years!”

@fallynleaf

リカ 深まってきたので近くでね（と瑞希の手を握り出す）

Rika: “Our bond has deepened, so we’re close.” (she grabs Mizuki’s hand)

I think the transcriber misheard the 深まってきた
It sounds to me like she definitely says 闘ってきた which makes a bit more sense I think.

@fallynleaf

This line had me a bit confused: “対戦相手も勝ちに来た欲しいですね。俺たちを食うぐらい来て欲しいなと思いました.”

Rika: “I wanted our opponents to come win, too. I wanted them to come at us like they were going to eat us.”

Yeah hmm I don’t think た欲しい makes sense so it should presumably be corrected to て. I guess not a big difference anyhow. Maybe a present tense on the first part, or a tweak to ‘to come to win.’

@fallynleaf

I wasn’t sure about this, either: “まあね、そういうことですよ.”

Nakajima: “Well, that’s what I mean.”

It cut out a fun little bit where there’s a silence and Nakajima has a very ふむふむ expression that Aino remarks on

Her まあね is the initial attempt to break the silence. She doesn’t particularly have anything to say, so the まあね and the そういうことですよ I would read as just filler phrases essentially.
Still tricky to translate though… maybe “Well! That’s how it is.” or “Well, that’s how it goes.” or “Well! That’s that” or “Well, that’s about the long and short of it.” or something…

@fallynleaf

I couldn’t quite figure out how to translate this:

ユキ 私らのカードはなんだ！

Yuki: “What even is our match?”

瑞希 なんだ！

Mizuki: “Dunno!”

Hmmm I think this is the literal meaning, but from her tone of voice I think it’s maybe meant more as like,
“What will our matches be!”
“Who can say!”
Like, riling up the excitement of one cool match being announced towards what the rest of the matches might be.

@fallynleaf

This seemed like a bit of an odd sentence to me: “先輩方と闘って遠い未来だったとしても、私もああやって先輩のように強くなると今日心に誓いました.”

Shino: “I made a vow to myself today that even if it’s in the far distant future when I fight my senpais, I’m going to become strong like them. I’m going to do my best!”

This is one of those ones where separating the clauses is easier listening to her audio in the video. I believe
先輩方と闘って
is not part of
遠い未来だったとしても、私もああやって先輩のように強くなる
which ends up resolving the oddity: it’s more like “fighting my senpais, today I resolved to” than “today I resolved to, when I fight my senpais”

@fallynleaf

I wasn’t quite sure about this: “ホントに自分がどうなってるか分かんない状況、時間がとても長くて.”

“I was in a state where I really had no idea what was happening to me for a long time.

I think from listening to her say it, that the 時間 is meant to be correcting her use of 状況. I think she meant to say ホントに自分(でも)どうなってるか分かんない時間がとても長くて

@fallynleaf

I wasn’t totally sure about this: “いつか、未詩がチャンピオンで闘っている時に私がタイトルマッチ（挑戦）したいなって思ってて。でもいつかって言ってたらずっとこないから、いましかないって思うから…やろう！”

“I thought, ‘I’d like to have a title match with Miu someday when she’s the champion’. But if I say ‘someday’, it’ll never actually happen, so I think it’s now or never… let’s do it!

Looks great to me!

@fallynleaf

This was a bit tricky to put in English: “え…日付まで？ 挑戦者が？”

Miu: “Huh? Even the date? The challenger?”

I think this is good but could probably use some filling in English for the loss of が and the implied stuff. Maybe “The challenger can set that?” or something.

@fallynleaf

This was a bit tricky: “えー！ ちょっと…まだビクセンサンキューみたいな余韻に浸りたかったんですよ.”

Miu: “Huh?? I was… trying to enjoy the afterglow, like ‘Vixen, thank you’.

I think this is fine, but I wanted to mention I’m amused at Miu flexing her English correcting herself from ビクセンありがとう to ビクセンサンキュー.

@fallynleaf

Another one of these Miu lines that always seems to give me trouble… “正直、ビクセン戦が決まった時は、このベルトでもインターナショナル？ 世界？ ワールドな人が来るんだって思ってちょっと動揺していたんですけど.”

“To be honest, when the match with Vixen was set, I thought, ‘Is this belt international, too? Global?’ I was a bit shaken at the thought of someone coming from out in the world.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm… yeah something about the mix of English and Japanese in an adjective way that doesn’t really quite fit in English makes this one hard huh. I think the version you’ve gone with is ok under the circumstances.

@fallynleaf

This was tough: “やっぱり私色々考えたんですけど、いつもいつも『大好きです！』って言ってるけど、みんなにも言ってほしいなと思ったのと同時に、みんなにも声を出してほしいなって思ったし。こういうのがあるのって、私もアイドルの現場とかで『会場で言いたい！』って思うと思うので。ぜひおうちの前で見ているあなた、会場に言いに来たくなってください.”

“I thought about it a lot, but, well, I’m always saying ‘I love you!’ I wanted everyone to say it, and at the same time, I wanted them to shout it out. I thought people would think ‘I want to say it at the venue!’ for my idol work and such, too. So I hope you, who are watching in front of your house, will come to the venue to say it. I’ll be waiting!”

I think this is good. I would probably though translate 大好きです！ as just “daisuki desu!” or otherwise as “I love it!” just since in her closer here, and in the context where I most associate the phrase with Miu, the opening to her entrance theme:
皆！プロレスのこと好きかーーーー！！ 私は大好きだーーーー！！！！！
… she’s not talking about the audience with the 大好きだ, rather pro wrestling / TJPW.
And since she wants people to say it at the show it might be a good excuse to leave it untranslated/phonetic, anyhow.

@fallynleaf

This was tricky: “相手はタッグパートナーである未詩ではあるんですけど、だからこそ最高峰の闘いができたならと思って。もっと未詩並に、それ以上にムキムキになろうと思って鍛え直して挑みます。みんな、よろしくお願いします！”

“My opponent is my tag partner Miu, but that’s exactly why I thought we could have a top-level battle. I am going to reforge myself to be as ripped as Miu, if not more so, for the title challenge. Everyone, please look forward to it!”

This seems good to me, I thought I’d just mention the small transcriber typo that may not have helped with the trickiness: できたなら should be できたらな

[rodan]

週刊プロレス No.２２７１ (from October 2023)

I think you may find Giulia’s column this week validating, @fallynleaf…

[fallynleaf]

Really crawled through this one, but I finished the translation for the June 15 VOD show.

First match with comments was Haru and Runa vs Shino and Uta. A nice win for Runa’s birthday!

Haru and Runa’s comments:

Runa: “I won!”

Haru: “Today is Runa’s 16th birthday!”

Runa: “I won!”

Haru: “Runa got us the win on her birthday.”

Runa: “I want to eat strawberry candy.”

I wasn’t sure exactly what she was referring to with this and thought you might have some idea, rodan? “（週プロの企画で）原宿いったメンバーと闘ったんですよ.”

“We fought the members of the roster who went to Harajuku (for the ShuPro project).”

Haru: “I’m disappointed (that we couldn’t go).”

Runa: “Yeah! But we won.”

Haru: “We won, so they’ll have to take us.”

Runa: (looking at ShuPro reporter Ishii) “You’ll take me along as a birthday present, right?”

I also thought the reading of 石井’s name was probably Ishii, but I tried double-checking it, and I could not find the reading to his specific name anywhere. Ah well…

Haru: “They’ll do it for us! I can’t wait for the strawberry candy!”

Runa: “I’m looking forward to the 10 yen bread!”

Haru: “And the Korean cheese corn dogs.”

I wasn’t sure how to translate this: “しなこさんのお店にもいきたいですね.” Well, to be honest, I wasn’t 100% on some of the other things in their comments, either. But this was the one I was least sure about .

Runa: “I also want to go to Shinako-san’s store.”

Haru: “Let’s eat Yakiniku.”

Runa: “Please take us to Shinako-san’s store, too.”

Haru: “I’m glad I could team up with Runa on her birthday.”

Runa: “Wait, really? It was fun teaming up. Let’s team up next time, too.”

The next match with comments was Itoh/Miyu vs Pom/Mahiro. This one was pretty funny because at one point, Pom managed to trap Miyu on the second floor, leaving Itoh to the mercy of Pom and Mahiro.

Yamashita: “Pom Harajuku, I won’t let you get away with this!”

This was a bit tricky to translate: “うわぁ…すごい顔.”

Itoh: “Wow… the expression on your face is really something.”

Yamashita: “Because she locked me out… that was no good; I was stuck on the second floor.”

Itoh: “Why didn’t you just jump off of it?”

Yamashita: “Are you an idiot? That’s really dangerous!”

This was a bit tricky:

伊藤「飛び降りられるでしょ。アンタ、モンスターなんだから何でもできるんじゃないの？ ちゃんと律儀に階段使って…」

Itoh: “You could’ve done it. You’re a monster, so you can do anything, right? Just use the stairs like they’re meant to be used…”

山下「いやいや…。しかもアンタ、普通に1人でいく、みたいなのしてたよね？ いいよ、みたいなかんじになってたよね？ でも1人でできなかったの」

Yamashita: “No, no… Besides, you’re normally like doing it all alone, right? So I sort of felt like it was okay then, right? But you couldn’t do it by yourself.”

Itoh: “Nope.”

Yamashita: “You needed me.”

Itoh: “Yes, I needed Miyu Yamashita.”

Yamashita: “Alright, alright, alright. Tomorrow is Fukuoka.”

Itoh: “We’ll be the hometown heroes.”

Yamashita: “I’ve watched footage of Taylor, and I watched her today, too. I’ve fought Vixen a bunch in the U.S., so I know her. Taylor fought Arai-chan, and she’s also really strong. She’s powerful and huge. We’ve really got our work cut out for us. But, well, we’ll be alright.”

Itoh: “I think so, too.”

Yamashita: “We can’t afford to lose in Hakata.”

Itoh: “It’ll be our first time at Across Fukuoka.”

Yamashita: “Yeah, that’s right. It’s big. We’ll really have to liven it up, Hakata.”

Itoh: “Understood! I’ll do my best!”

Yamashita: “Tomorrow, let’s get it done!”

Nao Kakuta also faced Yuna Manase for (probably) the last time . After seeing how much of an influence Yuna was on Nao, this match had more of an impact on me. I kind of wished it had gotten a bit of a bigger spotlight, though…

Nao and Yuna did their comments together:

Kakuta: “Thank you very much.”

Manase: “Thank you.”

Kakuta: “I’m so happy. I asked for a singles match, and I didn’t expect it to be in Kobe.”

Manase: “It’s my first time here.”

I was totally lost with the first part of this: “初めての女になったので、一生忘れさせてあげないようにしようと思ったんですけど…1個だけいいですか？ 私たちのこのスタイル。これ、私が今日Xで呟いたゆうなイズムなんですけど.”

Kakuta: “Since I became a woman for the first time, I won’t let you forget it for the rest of your life… Can I say just one thing? This style of ours, this is the Yuna-ism I tweeted about on X today.”

Manase: (laughs)

This whole part was tricky:

角田「絶対試合終わったらジャージでお客さんのところの特典会に行くってゆうなさんに教わったので。髪の毛もゆうなさんに教わったんですけど、これ…」

Kakuta: “Yuna-san taught me that I absolutely have to go to the fan meeting after the match in a jersey. She also taught me how to do my hair.”

まなせ「その話するんだ（笑）。私はメインイベントに勝った時はコスチュームで出るようにしてるんです。そのメインイベントに出れるってことは、ベルトとかに絡める選手になってるってことだから…ってことだからね？」

Manase: “You say that, but.” (laughs) “For me, when I win the main event, I try to appear in my gear. Getting to be in the main event means that I’m a wrestler who can be in the title picture… that’s what it means, right?”

角田「ちゃんとそうやって教わってきてましたよ。あとコスチュームで出るのはポートレートとか、そういう時にコスチューム姿っていうのを大事に大事にしとくんだよって教わった結果が…」

Kakuta: “That’s how I was taught. Also, I was taught that as far as appearing in your gear goes, for portraits and such, your appearance in your gear is very, very important…”

まなせ「ジャージ姿で（笑）」

Manase: “She says in a jersey.” (laughs)

角田「すぐコスチューム脱ぐ人たちって（笑）。9年間大事にゆうなイズムとしてやらせてもらったので、貫いて…もっとありますよ。もっとあるんですけど…寂しかった。楽しすぎちゃって」

Kakuta: “People who take off their gear immediately.” (laughs) “I got to experience nine precious years of Yuna-ism, so sticking to it… there’s more. There’s more, but… I‘m sad. It was too much fun.”

Manase: “Y’know, I’m also a bit…”

Kakuta: “It passed by too fast.”

Manase: “When today’s match was announced, I was informed that Nao-chan was going to retire, but… it didn’t feel real to me. Until today. To tell the truth, even now it still doesn’t feel real.”

This was a bit tricky: “でも私は奈穂ちゃんと大体10年前に会ってるんですけど、10年前に会った奈穂ちゃんが…その時からこういう優しいかんじで、かわいい女の子が10年もプロレスを続けてくれたことが嬉しいし。私も大好きな東京女子で最後に…っていうのも嬉しいから。だから、あと1カ月あるから。1カ月会ったら人間進化できるので.”

“But I met Nao-chan about ten years ago, and I’m happy a girl who was so kind and lovely from that moment on has continued to wrestle for ten years. And for the end to be in TJPW, which I also love… I’m so happy. So, she’s got one month left. When we meet after a month, you’ll be able to evolve as a person. I want you to be the best Nao Kakuta that you can possibly be right up until your retirement, so please put your all into your matches without injuring yourself!”

Kakuta: “Yes! Thank you very much! Then, can you give me a piggyback ride out of here?”

Manase: (giving her a piggyback ride) “Oh, are there any questions?”

(Were you able to convey to each other what you wanted to convey in your last singles match?)

Kakuta: “Did it come across?”

Manase: “Yes, it did.” (laughs)

Kakuta: “I hit her with everything I had. I hit Yuna-san with everything, to the point where I had nothing left.”

This was a bit tricky: “やっぱ立った瞬間に引退を決めた女っていうのは、出で立ちから感じるものがあったので。これはホントにここで引退決めてるんだなって思ったら…やっぱり寂しいですけど.”

Manase: “I could feel from the way she dressed that she truly was a woman who decided to retire the moment she stood up. I felt that she really was deciding to retire here, and of course I’ll miss her. I’m sad that she’s quitting before me… I haven’t been right there with Nao-chan throughout the entire ten years, but it was because Nao-chan was there that I realized that I needed to become stronger.”

Kakuta: “You’ll get strong, Yuna-san.”

Manase: “I’ll get stronger and become a woman who’s capable of smashing the ring. When that happens, I’ll go back home to Togane.” (laughs) “That’s how I feel. Thank you very much!”

Kakuta: “Thank you very much!”

Next was the main event: Miu & Shoko & Kaya vs Mizuki & Aino & VertVixen. I was pretty distracted when watching this one, so I don’t remember much of it… Mizuki’s team won (unsurprisingly), which meant that Vert got to help close the show for the first time.

The first bit of the post-match was in English:

Vixen: (in English) “First of all, arigato gozaimasu!” (she bows) “Thank you all for coming here, this was my first time in Kobe, and I could not be more excited to be here. I’m so honored to tag with Mizuki, who’s from here, and Yuki-san! I am so honored to be here. TJPW, I love you!”

Yuki: “Kobe! Is this the first time in a month? Thank you, everyone!”

I wasn’t quite sure about the first part of this: “ちょうど来ているタイミングでビクセンと、みずぴょんとタッグを組めて嬉しかったです！ みずぴょん、どう？”

“I’m very happy that I got to tag with Vixen while she’s here, and with Mizu-pyon. Mizu-pyon, how’s it going?”

I think I got this, but wasn’t quite sure: “ただいま～。さすがに未詩と翔子ちゃんはもうヤバいんだけど、それに加速して鳥さんも簡単に焼き鳥にできんかった.”

Mizuki: “I’m home! As expected, Miu and Shoko-chan were a lot to deal with, and with her speed, Tori-san couldn’t easily be made into yakitori, either. We were able to team up today, and (Vixen) said she liked TJPW, and that she wanted more and more.”

For Yuki’s remark here, was her comment because they didn’t know for sure what Vert said due to the language barrier?

ユキ「たぶんね」

Yuki: “Well, she probably said that.”

Mizuki: “I’m really happy that she said that, and I want (her to come) more, more! I had a lot of fun today.”

Together with Vixen, they closed the show with: “We eat Kobe beef!”

Kind of an amusing moment at the end because Vert didn’t understand what the wrestlers wanted with the call & response (Vert should read my TJPW guide!), but they managed to make it work, lol.

Their comments were sort of half in English:

All: (in English) “We eat Kobe Beef!”

Mizuki: “I want to eat Kobe beef. Today I teamed up with Vixen and Yuki-chan, and Vixen got the win for us, which makes me happy.”

Yuki: “It was fun, huh?”

Mizuki: “Yeah!” (to Vixen, in English) “Happy?”

Vixen: (in English) “Happy, very happy! Enjoy! Yes! Very much, lots of fun. Grateful to tag with Mizuki-san and Yuki-san. Yes, so good!”

Yuki: (in English) “One more time!”

Mizuki: (in English) “One more time!”

Vixen: (in English) “One more time, yes please! Maybe two more times.” (in Japanese) “More, more!” (in English) “Three times, four times, five times, six times.”

Yuki: “Vixen, come back again.”

Mizuki: (in English) “Come back to Japan!”

Vixen: (in English) “Yes please! Yes, I want to come back to TJPW! Please! Tag again?”

Both: (in English) “Yes! Team!”

Vixen: (in English) “Yes, team! Yay!”

And that’s it for that one.

Next up, the June 16 VOD and then the other VOD. They also did a press conference for Summer Sun Princess already, which is honestly a great kindness for me lol because the show is almost a month out, which gives me plenty of time to get to the presser even in my extremely depressed state.

[rodan]

@fallynleaf

I wasn’t sure exactly what she was referring to with this and thought you might have some idea, rodan? “（週プロの企画で）原宿いったメンバーと闘ったんですよ.”

“We fought the members of the roster who went to Harajuku (for the ShuPro project).”

I would assume it would be for an interview/photoshoot, and I googled around and yeah:

TJPW 東京女子プロレス

@fallynleaf

I also thought the reading of 石井’s name was probably Ishii, but I tried double-checking it, and I could not find the reading to his specific name anywhere. Ah well…

I’d say that’s one that’s safe to assume! I can think of at least 4 or 5 石井s off the top of my head, and they’re all Ishii.

@fallynleaf

I wasn’t sure how to translate this: “しなこさんのお店にもいきたいですね.” Well, to be honest, I wasn’t 100% on some of the other things in their comments, either. But this was the one I was least sure about .

Runa: “I also want to go to Shinako-san’s store.”

Shinako appears to be a social media influencer who has a store in Harajuku called Baby Tapi Tokyo. So this seems fine to me.

@fallynleaf

Runa: “Wait, really? It was fun teaming up. Let’s team up next time, too.”

Minor tweak but I would interpret from her tone and Haru’s reaction that Runa’s 本当かよ？ here is more like a teasing like, “Really?” / “Oh really?” / “Are you for real?” rather than a sincere “Wait, really?”


Haru’s reaction is really quiet but starts with ええ? and ends with のに and I would assume is something like a mock hurt like, “whaaat but I really meant it” or somesuch.

In general (and I suppose this is in a similar ballpark to the note that’s come up sometimes about “よ？”) I would say things ending in かよ are like, rhetorical or have an extra sense of disbelief to them, sort of.

@fallynleaf

This was a bit tricky to translate: “うわぁ…すごい顔.”

Itoh: “Wow… the expression on your face is really something.”

I think this is fine, but I’d personally maybe move away from the literal meaning to have her comment more directly on it for naturalness. Maybe “Wow, such a scary face!” or something. Up to you though.

@fallynleaf

伊藤「飛び降りられるでしょ。アンタ、モンスターなんだから何でもできるんじゃないの？ ちゃんと律儀に階段使って…」

Itoh: “You could’ve done it. You’re a monster, so you can do anything, right? Just use the stairs like they’re meant to be used…”

It’s lost in the transcript since (naturally) they’re talking fast and bickering so not everything is caught, but in that last part I would say she was saying in the video like “I thought you’d be back down quickly, but instead you took the stairs properly (in no rush).” The dropped parts in the transcript make it clearer that she’s talking about what happened in the match.

@fallynleaf

山下「いやいや…。しかもアンタ、普通に1人でいく、みたいなのしてたよね？ いいよ、みたいなかんじになってたよね？ でも1人でできなかったの」

Yamashita: “No, no… Besides, you’re normally like doing it all alone, right? So I sort of felt like it was okay then, right? But you couldn’t do it by yourself.”

I’d maybe tweak “Besides, you’re normally like doing it all alone, right?” to maybe something like “Besides, it was like, you normally get along fine on your own, right?” but I think it’s fine either way.

@fallynleaf

初めての女になったので

@fallynleaf

Since I became a woman for the first time

Hahaha, I would say 初めての女 here would be “first-timer.” As in it’s her first time in Kobe. Here’s supporting evidence in a question concerning 初めての人.
“Since you’re a first-timer, I…”

@fallynleaf

角田「絶対試合終わったらジャージでお客さんのところの特典会に行くってゆうなさんに教わったので。髪の毛もゆうなさんに教わったんですけど、これ…」

Kakuta: “Yuna-san taught me that I absolutely have to go to the fan meeting after the match in a jersey.

I think based on the whole conversation what happened is that Yuna Manase legitimately gave Nao the advice “if you’re in the main event it’s important to keep your costume on for the post-match fan meetings etc., but otherwise I’d personally not bother, switch into a jersey or something.”

And so here I think I would tweak this slightly back to passive voice, maybe something like “always switching after the match to a jersey before going to the fan meeting is something Yuna taught me” / “is something I got from Yuna”.

Just since I would say here she’s describing like, the end result of Yuna’s advice, when Yuna is about to clarify that what she actually conveyed isn’t directly “you have to switch to a jersey after the match”

@fallynleaf

まなせ「その話するんだ（笑）。私はメインイベントに勝った時はコスチュームで出るようにしてるんです。そのメインイベントに出れるってことは、ベルトとかに絡める選手になってるってことだから…ってことだからね？」

Manase: “You say that, but.” (laughs) “For me, when I win the main event, I try to appear in my gear. Getting to be in the main event means that I’m a wrestler who can be in the title picture… that’s what it means, right?”

I think here, その話するんだ, is like “I do say that.” Like I think she’s laughingly acknowledging the seed of what Nao is saying, and then further elaborating on what specifically it is she says on this point.

I would probably also tweak “that’s what it means, right?” at the end to a “Since (the rest of the sentence), you know?”
She’s explaining why it’s important to have a bit more decorum if you’re in the main event.

@fallynleaf

角田「ちゃんとそうやって教わってきてましたよ。あとコスチュームで出るのはポートレートとか、そういう時にコスチューム姿っていうのを大事に大事にしとくんだよって教わった結果が…」

Kakuta: “That’s how I was taught. Also, I was taught that as far as appearing in your gear goes, for portraits and such, your appearance in your gear is very, very important…”

I would tweak “That’s how I was taught” to “That’s exactly what you taught me!” or something like that. It’s still presumably Mana doing the teaching here.

I would also maybe tweak “your appearance in your gear is very, very important” to “make sure to be very very careful that your appearance in your gear is all in order” or something, to try to get the active sense of 大事にしとくんだよ in.
I think here the thrust of the advice is to be fastidious about your gear when you do appear in it for photos.

@fallynleaf

角田「すぐコスチューム脱ぐ人たちって（笑）。9年間大事にゆうなイズムとしてやらせてもらったので、貫いて…もっとありますよ。もっとあるんですけど…寂しかった。楽しすぎちゃって」

Kakuta: “People who take off their gear immediately.” (laughs) “I got to experience nine precious years of Yuna-ism, so sticking to it… there’s more. There’s more, but… I‘m sad. It was too much fun.”

Here the すぐコスチューム脱ぐ人たちって is clearly them, so I would change it to “We’re two people who take off their gear immediately.”

I would probably tweak “so sticking to it” to “so I’m going to stick to it”

For もっとありますよ, in the video it’s a lot clearer that she’s saying to Yuna like, “You taught me more than just that!”

She’s clarifying that changing to casual clothes right after a match isn’t the be-all-end-all of the Yunaism she’s talking about.

@fallynleaf

やっぱ立った瞬間に引退を決めた女っていうのは、出で立ちから感じるものがあったので。

@fallynleaf

I could feel from the way she dressed that she truly was a woman who decided to retire the moment she stood up.

I think there’s one of those ambiguous clause hierarchy cases that got misread / is easier to hear with the break in how she says it in the video:
やっぱ立った瞬間に
引退を決めた女っていうのは
出で立ちから感じるものがあったので。
I would say she’s saying roughly like, as soon as she saw Nao, there were things she could tell about her and her resolve just from her appearance and gear.

@fallynleaf

I wasn’t quite sure about the first part of this: “ちょうど来ているタイミングでビクセンと、みずぴょんとタッグを組めて嬉しかったです！ みずぴょん、どう？”

“I’m very happy that I got to tag with Vixen while she’s here, and with Mizu-pyon. Mizu-pyon, how’s it going?”

I think this is good. I googled around uses of ちょうど来ている and saw stuff that will be here for a period of time and then be gone like peak cherry blossom times or typhoons or covid waves. The ちょうど seems superfluous in translation beyond what you have (and probably superfluous in the original language too since it’s not like a person can have degrees of being here or not like those other things…).

@fallynleaf

I think I got this, but wasn’t quite sure: “ただいま～。さすがに未詩と翔子ちゃんはもうヤバいんだけど、それに加速して鳥さんも簡単に焼き鳥にできんかった.”

Mizuki: “I’m home! As expected, Miu and Shoko-chan were a lot to deal with, and with her speed, Tori-san couldn’t easily be made into yakitori, either.

I think this is fine… she says 加速して really quickly and I wonder if something got a little omitted or lost in that part. Like it seems like it should be 加速してる probably, to be “Tori-san who is accelerating” since currently it reads like “And, accelerating, I couldn’t easily make Tori-san into yakitori” which doesn’t make sense to me.
Hmmm, maybe there’s nothing garbled though and it’s like, “And, going faster (to deal with those two), I couldn’t easily make Tori-san into yakitori either.”

@fallynleaf

For Yuki’s remark here, was her comment because they didn’t know for sure what Vert said due to the language barrier?

ユキ「たぶんね」

Yep! it’s weird though that the transcript has Yuki saying it though because it’s definitely a joke Mizuki makes herself to the audience, getting a laugh. Just a transcript misattribution mistake!
In the video she also gets Vixen to say it.

[rodan]

週刊プロレス No.２２７２ (from late October 2023)

[rodan]

週刊プロレス No.２２７３ (from early November 2023)

[fallynleaf]

Finished the June 16 VOD translation. Sort of only half paid attention to the show because I was trying to decipher eight pages of handwritten email addresses at the same time…

First match with comments was Nao vs Himawari, which had quite a bit of braid-pulling and Himawari getting tossed around by her hair. Still waiting for Himawari to try strangling an opponent with her own hair at some point… My personal bet with myself is that it’ll happen some day in a Rika match lol.

They did their comments together:

Kakuta: “That was fun!”

HIMAWARI: “Yes! …Nao-san~!” (she hugs Kakuta)

This was a bit tricky to come up with a translation for: “めっちゃ私楽しかったけど、なんかこの髪が試合のアダになりすぎてる気がするから、いいのかなって.”

Kakuta: “It was a lot of fun for me, but I feel like this hair of yours works to your disadvantage, so I wonder if it’s a good idea.”

HIMAWARI: “It’s just you! You’re the only one who pulls me around like this.” (laughs)

Kakuta: “Because it’s so easy to grab… Thank you. I had a singles match that could only be done with HIMAWARI. It was a lot of fun.”

HIMAWARI: “I’m so glad!”

Kakuta: “Everyone, please support HIMAWARI more. She’s really not good at asserting herself. I’m always telling her she needs to assert herself more.”

HIMAWARI: “It’s just Nao-san, worrying about me and supporting me.”

Kakuta: “I’m always concerned about this girl.”

This was a bit tricky to translate:

HIMAWARI「私は奈穂さんにずっといてほしいです、まだ」

HIMAWARI: “I want Nao-san to always be here. Don’t leave yet!”

角田「ちょっとそれはよく分かんないけど」

Kakuta: “Well, I don’t know about that.”

HIMAWARI「うわああああ…」

HIMAWARI: “Waaah…!”

Kakuta: (laughs)

HIMAWARI: “But thank you so much for including me in one of the matches on your precious road to retirement.”

Kakuta: “Not at all! I’m the one who should be thanking you. And I still have a month left.”

HIMAWARI: “That’s right.”

Kakuta: “Let’s keep doing our best!”

HIMAWARI: “And there’s also CROSS (on July 6 at Shin-Kiba).”

Kakuta: “Yes! Let’s do our best, huh? Thank you very much!”

This whole chunk was a bit tricky: “（角田選手からしたら…）ははは（笑）。帰ろうとしてた。（髪の毛は切った方がいい？）でも悩みどころですよね。こんなに切ったことのない髪は女の子としては大事だし。なんか、こういう仕事をしていくうえでも、やっぱこんな子いないから、髪切ったことないですみたいな。アイデンティティとしてはひじょうに大事だと思うけど、今後試合していく上でこれがいつかアダになるんじゃないかっていう心配はしてるから、切った方がいいとは簡単には言えないですね.”

(Kakuta, from your point of view…)

“Hahaha, I was on my way out.”

(Should she cut her hair?)

“Well, it’s a troublesome matter. Having hair like this that has never been cut is something precious for a girl. Even among those doing this line of work, there aren’t any girls like her, girls who haven’t cut their hair. I think it’s a very important part of her identity, but I’m worried that it might someday backfire on her in a future match, so I can’t simply say that it would be better for her to cut it.”

HIMAWARI: “If I cut it, it’d be like a rabbit without ears, or a zebra without stripes.”

Kakuta: “I don’t get it.” (laughs)

HIMAWARI: “Me without my hair…”

Kakuta: “Oh, HIMAWARI without her hair is equivalent to a zebra without stripes. Then I think it’s best not to cut it.”

HIMAWARI: (laughs)

The main event was Itoh and Miyu vs LA Taylor and VertVixen. I thought they built up both opponents decently well to give Itoh and Miyu a win in their hometown that felt more meaningful than usual.

Here’s the post-match:

Itoh: “Thank you so much for coming out to the show in Fukuoka today!”

Yamashita: “Thank you! I think our match for the Fukuoka show today was really fitting for the two of us who, for the past few years, are always going overseas.”

Itoh: “It was fun, huh?”

Yamashita: “I’m really happy that we got to do this match in our hometown, Fukuoka. How about you, Itoh? You’re happy, right?”

Itoh: “Yes, I am.”

Yamashita: “How do you feel? It’s been a long time since we’ve tagged.”

Itoh: “Has it been??”

Yamashita: “Ah, well, we did it yesterday, but it’s been a while. We were long-distance.”

Itoh: “Well, it’s alright, isn’t it? I had fun.”

Yamashita: “Taylor and VertVixen were strong, but we managed to get the win with the hometown power of Hakata. It was thanks to all of you! Thank you very much!” (the audience applauds) “So?”

Itoh: “Don’t just hand it over to me because you couldn’t decide what you wanted to say. Well, I’m sure we’ll be back in Fukuoka again next year, and when that happens… I really want to do it there. What was it? The International Center. Well…”

Yamashita: “Well… let’s do our best.”

Itoh: “You know, I really wanted to sell out Acros Fukuoka. So I want a full house next time.”

Yamashita: “Yeah. That’s right. But are you all happy?” (the audience applauds) “Then that’s good! Let’s do our best again!”

Itoh: “Yes, let’s.”

Yamashita: “Can I do it? We got the win together, but since I got the pin, can we close with ‘limits’?”

Had a bit of trouble translating this:

「どうやってやりますっけ？」という伊藤に説明し、最後は「限界、自分で決めんなよ！」で1年ぶりの福岡大会を締めた。

“How do we do it?” She explained to Itoh, and then they closed the first Fukuoka show in a year with: “Don’t set your own limits!”

Itoh and Miyu’s comments:

Yamashita: “We came back to our hometown, Fukuoka!”

Itoh: “Thank you very much."

Yamashita: “It’s our first time at Acros Fukuoka.”

Itoh: “We won!”

Yamashita: “We won!! Our match today was against overseas wrestlers, LA Taylor and VertVixen, and I’m really happy that we could do a match like that here in Fukuoka, a match typical for the two of us who had been overseas. However, I feel like we could’ve done more. I feel like we’ve grown, and that we can go even higher. Just like when we did it in Kobe, I really felt that teaming with Itoh gets me super pumped, and fighting her is also exciting, and I realized once again that she’s my best partner.”

Itoh: “Thank you very much. Facing our two opponents today, I also felt that if I’d been with anyone other than Yamashita, I don’t know if I could have won. If I can win with Yamashita, that means we mesh well together. How much longer are you going to be in Japan after this?”

Yamashita: “I’ll be around for a bit.”

Itoh: “I’m (frequently) going.”

This was a bit tricky:

山下 それもひっくるめて何があってもいない時間も愛を深めてますから、私たち。じゃない？

Yamashita: “Then in short, this means that rain or shine, even when one of us isn’t here, we’re still deepening our love. Right?”

伊藤（素っ気なく）はい。

Itoh: (curtly) “Yes.”

山下 え、じゃない？

Yamashita: “Huh, are you saying we’re not?”

伊藤 うん。

Itoh: “Uh huh.”

山下 う～んって何それ。何かあったの？ でもわかっているの、私。たまにアメリカで浮気的なことしてるよね？

Yamashita: “What’s with the hesitation? Is something wrong? But I get it. You’re sometimes unfaithful to me in America, aren’t you?”

Itoh: “Unfaithful? What?”

Yamashita: “At GCW.”

Itoh: “I’ve only teamed with Nick Gage.”

Yamashita: “Yeah, that.”

Itoh: “That’s totally different!”

This line was a bit tricky, too: “なんかベストタッグ的な、なんかお揃いのあれつけてるし。私たちそういうのないの？”

Yamashita: “Something that really says best tag team, like something matching. Do we have anything like that?”

Itoh: “No, we don’t. Should I give you a bandana? That’s what I have with Nick Gage.”

Yamashita: “Nick Gage’s is different. I want ours to match. If you don’t have it by the next match, I won’t let that go.”

Itoh: “You won’t let it go? How about that, folks? That’s what you call power harassment!”

Yamashita: “It’s not power harassment!”

Itoh: “Did you see it? There’s proof of it (on video).”

This was a bit tricky:

山下 消すよ、これ。でも、おそろ欲しいでしょ。わかりやすいですもんね。

Yamashita: “I’ll erase it. But you want to match, right? It’s easy to see.”

伊藤（面倒臭そうに）じゃあなんか作りましょう、はい。っていうことでね。ケガなく勝ててよかったです。ありがとうございました。

Itoh: (looking annoyed) “Then we’ll make something, alright? That’s what I said I’d do. I’m glad we won without injury. Thank you very much.”

Yamashita: “Thank you very much.”

(There was a lot of love expressed by Yamashita earlier, but how about from Itoh to Yamashita?)

Itoh: “I’m not very good at saying stuff like that. I think we’re the best tag team. But I don’t want to talk about ‘love’ and all that.”

I wasn’t quite sure how to translate the 派 in this: “私は伝えて欲しい派だから.”

Yamashita: “I’m the type who wants her to express it.”

Itoh: “No, but I’m bad at saying it. I hate it. I don’t want to say it somewhere like this.”

This line was really difficult: “じゃあなおこつ、おそろで示してくれないと私はわからないから.”

Yamashita: “Well, I won’t understand if you don’t state it plainly.”

I wasn’t confident on this:

伊藤 ああ怖い。またメンヘラ化しましたね。みなさんどうですか？ 恐ろしい、恐ろしい。日本に帰ってきたらメンヘラ化するからさ。

Itoh: “Ah, scary. She’s gone crazy again. What do you think, everyone? Terrifying. When she comes back to Japan, she goes crazy.”

山下 だからこそ必要ですよ。

Yamashita: “That’s exactly why I need it.”

Itoh: “Thank you very much."

VertVixen and LA Taylor’s comments were in English:

Vixen: “We faced some of the best. We were in that ring with Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita, and I have faced them several times before, but today… today they brought way more than I thought that they ever could. And honestly, Taylor? I thought better of you. How dare you! I come to Japan for my third time! My THIRD time! And you get here your first time, and we tag, and you make us lose? What happened?”

Taylor: “I made us lose?”

Vixen: “Yes!”

Taylor: “I made us lose?!”

Vixen: “Yes! You took the pin; what happened?”

Taylor: “Team. Tag TEAM. Both lose. Not one. Joint effort. Get your head in the game.”

Vixen: “My head is in the game. My head is in the game. That’s why I had them!”

Taylor: “…”

Vixen: “I trusted you, Taylor. When we come back here and we team again—”

Taylor: (nodding)

Vixen: “You better step up your game, or I’m out.”

Taylor: “We will be back! We will tag again! This isn’t over—I don’t let down my friends. Because that’s who Vixen is, my FRIEND!”

And that’s it for that one. Still two shows and a press conference behind…

[rodan]

@fallynleaf

「どうやってやりますっけ？」という伊藤に説明し、最後は「限界、自分で決めんなよ！」で1年ぶりの福岡大会を締めた。

“How do we do it?” She explained to Itoh, and then they closed the first Fukuoka show in a year with: “Don’t set your own limits!”

Only mild thing I’d mention is Itoh’s the one saying どうやってやりますっけ？ - not sure if that’s clear here.

@fallynleaf

Yamashita: “I’ll be around for a bit.”

Itoh: “I’m (frequently) going.”

I get the Impression Yamashita’s ちょいちょい here probably means more, like, “(it’s not decided exactly how long I’ll be in Japan yet but) I’ll be gone fairly frequently”
ちょいちょい seems to mean something happening a number of times, and I assume she means leaving Japan, based on Itoh in the video saying 伊藤もいっちゃう

@fallynleaf

山下 え、じゃない？

Yamashita: “Huh, are you saying we’re not?”

I’d probably go with another “Right?” here.

@fallynleaf

This line was a bit tricky, too: “なんかベストタッグ的な、なんかお揃いのあれつけてるし。私たちそういうのないの？”

Yamashita: “Something that really says best tag team, like something matching. Do we have anything like that?”

Here’s she talking about Itoh and Gage wearing something like a bandana, so I would add a “You’ve got” to the start.

@fallynleaf

山下 消すよ、これ。でも、おそろ欲しいでしょ。わかりやすいですもんね。

Yamashita: “I’ll erase it. But you want to match, right? It’s easy to see.”

I think with わかりやすい she’s saying like, “it’s clearer that way” like it’s easier to tell they’re a tag team if they match. I would probably think that anyway (for whatever reason) but I think I hear a mumbled そっちのほうが after the part in the transcript too.

@fallynleaf

っていうことでね

@fallynleaf

That’s what I said I’d do.

The っていうことでね here is rather a transition changing the suggest. “and so with that settled,” / “and so anyway,” that kind of thing. She’s wrapping up the tag team bickering and transitioning to closing the comments.

@fallynleaf

I wasn’t quite sure how to translate the 派 in this: “私は伝えて欲しい派だから.”

Yamashita: “I’m the type who wants her to express it.”

That’s fine - 派 comes up a lot in this kind of situation of like, being one type of person or the other type of person.

@fallynleaf

This line was really difficult: “じゃあなおこつ、おそろで示してくれないと私はわからないから.”

Yamashita: “Well, I won’t understand if you don’t state it plainly.”

Hmmm it does seem odd. I think that なおこつ is probably meant to be なおかつ - she does pronounce it like なおこつ but I don’t know what else that would be.
And with なおかつ in place it becomes:
“Well, that’s all the more reason that if you don’t show it by matching with me I won’t know you mean it!”
with おそろで示して interpreted as showing her love by dressing in matching outfits (instead of saying it).

@fallynleaf

伊藤 ああ怖い。またメンヘラ化しましたね。みなさんどうですか？ 恐ろしい、恐ろしい。日本に帰ってきたらメンヘラ化するからさ。

Itoh: “Ah, scary. She’s gone crazy again. What do you think, everyone? Terrifying. When she comes back to Japan, she goes crazy.”

山下 だからこそ必要ですよ。

Yamashita: “That’s exactly why I need it.”

I think this is right - Yamashita’s comment is tying back in to the previous one, rather than fight the allegations of going crazy she’s just nodding like “yup that’s exactly why I need those matching outfits”
… I guess we’ll see if they get them next time they tag??

[fallynleaf]

Well, one mental breakdown later, and I’m finally back with the next translation. This is from the June 23 VOD show, which I confess I watched with pretty low energy.

The first match with comments is Nao vs Shino, which I don’t remember too much from specifically.

Nao’s comments were a bit tricky right from the start: “試合の前に志乃のSNSで「刻み込みにいく」みたいなのを見てたんだけど、見たら本当にわかるんだけど、ビックリしました。私は絶対に負けないけどねと思っていたし、あまり志乃と試合をするタイミングがなかったけど、それにしても「こんな底力持っているの？」みたいな.”

Kakuta: “Before the match, I saw something like ‘I’m going to leave an impression’ on Shino’s social media, and truthfully I get it, but it surprised me. I thought, ‘but I absolutely won’t lose’, and the timing never worked out for me to have many matches with Shino, but even so, I was like, ‘she has this kind of hidden strength?’ There were so many things that surprised me during the match, and I think she really did make an impression on me.” (laughs) “Shino was a lot like me when she debuted."

This was also tricky: “後輩いっぱいいるけど、その中で勝てなくてという志乃が、デビューした時の自分に重ねるというのを実は意外とこっそり言ってて.”

“I’m saying on the sly that Shino, who has a lot of juniors, but can’t get any wins among them, there’s a lot of overlap with my own debut. But the difference between us is that Shino is super positive, and she works hard all the time. I’m not good at putting in that kind of effort; I just crawled my way along in an environment where I had no choice but to do it. So when I came to TJPW, I gained a lot of confidence.”

This was a bit tricky: “だからそういう変化を自分の中で東京女子に来て感じていたから、志乃は東京女子というこんな素敵な環境があるから、もっとメキメキ成長して.”

“That’s why I felt such a change in myself when I came to TJPW, and since Shino is in such a wonderful environment in TJPW, she’s growing remarkably fast. I want to watch over Shino’s growth even after I’m gone, and I hope I get to see her someday get a big win somewhere and really shine.”

Shino’s comments:

Shino: “Thank you for the Hamamatsu show.”

The まず in this was tricky: “今日は奈穂さんとシングルができたってことで、まず組んでもらえたのがすごくすごく嬉しかったです.”

“I’m really happy that I got to have a singles match with Nao-san today, and that we were able to team up to begin with. As a matter of fact, I’ve barely gotten to face Nao-chan at all.”

Some tricky stuff in here, too: “だから運命の巡り合わせ的に闘えないんだろうな～って勝手に寂しくなっちゃってたんですけど。こういう機会をいただけて、まずは奈穂さんのひとつひとつを受けながら、あ～これが最初で最後かって技もあったりしたり。なんか痛さとともに寂しさもちょっとあるような試合でした。奈穂さんにはすごく色んなところで気にかけていただいたり、私の気持ちとかにすごく寄り添ってくれたり。私のこんなところまで見てくれてるの？ってところまで見てくださったりして.”

“So I thought we were fated to never be able to fight, and I was feeling sad. But we were given this chance, and while I was receiving each of Nao-san’s moves, I was like, ‘ah, there’s another move I’m going to take for the first and last time.’ It was a match that had a bit of sadness along with the pain. Nao-san showed me a lot of care, and she was near and dear to my heart. It was like, she’s looking at even these parts of me? I’ll miss Nao-san when she’s gone, but I’m going to do my best going forward carrying this last singles match in my heart. Thank you so much for today.”

After that was Moka, Miyu, and Toga vs Daisy Monkey and Kaya. This one came with a bit of a surprise: Moka got the winning pin by beating Arisu! By the time I watched this VOD, I already knew that Moka was getting a tag title shot, but since I tried avoiding spoilers for this show, I hadn’t known that this match was what sparked that.

Moka’s comments:

Miyamoto: “Today I was able to get the win from Arisu-chan in a 3-on-3. When I fought Shida-san at the last Korakuen show, in my backstage comments, I said that I wanted to set my sights on a belt. Today I faced Arisu-chan and Suzume-san, who have the tag belts, and since I was able to beat Arisu-chan, I want to challenge for the tag belts. I haven’t decided who (my partner) will be yet, but I want to team up with someone who can fight with the same passion. I’m looking for a partner.”

Daisy Monkey’s comments:

Endo: “Ah… I’m sorry. I lost…”

I wasn’t quite sure about this: “別に油断してたわけじゃないけど.”

“I didn’t mean to let my guard down.”

Suzume: “I lost to Moka the other day, albeit not directly, and I’m really feeling frustrated.”

Endo: “It’s frustrating…”

(Miyamoto said she wants to challenge for the tag belts)

“I see. That’s how it is, huh?”

Suzume: “Alright then.”

Had some trouble translating the そうs in there, but I tried my best. This part was a bit tricky: “私たちとしても、今回もだけどいままでずっと大事なタイミングでもかと当たってきて、勝てないことも多かったから…倒さなきゃいけない相手だとずっと思ってます.”

“For the two of us, we’re always facing Moka at crucial moments, this time included, and there have been many times where we haven’t been able to beat her… I’ve always thought of her as an opponent that I must defeat.”

Endo: “This time, she got a direct win over me.”

This was a bit tricky: “大事なところって言ってくれたけど、その時も私が取られてて.”

“You talked about crucial moments, but I was the one who lost then, too. It’s really frustrating. But I won’t lose the next one.”

Suzume: “I think Moka gave us this chance, and I will never hand over this belt!”

Endo: “We’ll protect them!”

(It sounds like she hasn’t decided on a partner)

I had some trouble wrangling this sentence: “そうですね。でも誰と来てもきっとまっすぐに熱い試合をするだろうし、私たちもそれに負けないように闘うだけです.”

Suzume: “I see. But no matter who it is, we’re going to have a straightforward and passionate match, and we’re just gonna fight so that we won’t lose to whoever it is.”

The main event of this one was the first preview match for Miu vs Rika. Miu tagged with Wakana, and Rika with Himawari. A nice little balanced matchup there.

Miu got the win and she and Wakana closed out the show:

Miu: “Thank you very much for the Hamamatsu show! Today was a preview match, so we faced off for the first time here, and I’m looking forward to July 20 even more now. I think you folks in Hamamatsu also want to come see it, right? So I hope you come to Korakuen Hall to cheer for me. I have something I want to ask Wakana. Since we came all the way out to Hamamatsu, do you have any recommendations as a big eater?”

Uehara: “Big eater…? It’s Hamamatsu, right? Gyoza is good, but… how about eel!”

Took a few creative liberties with this to get it into more natural English, but I’m pretty sure I interpreted it right: “（場内の反応に）なんかあんまり浜松の人はウナギ…（笑）”

Miu: (in response to the crowd reaction) “Something tells me that people from Hamamatsu aren’t big eaters of eel.” (laughs) “Well, let’s eat eel, and let’s do our best as we head toward Korakuen. And with that, I recently came up with something to close the show with…”

After explaining it, they closed the show with: “Everyone, do you like TJPW?” “I love it!”

Miu and Wakana’s comments:

Miu: “This was my first preview match with Rika-san.”

This was a bit tricky: “一応、結果として勝ったし、内容としてもいろいろお互いどう来るかというのが読みあえるような闘い方ができたかな…って思うんですけど、読めないのが辰巳リカなので。これからまだ1ヵ月ないぐらいはあるので、リカさんがどう出てくるかというのが毎試合考えながらいきたいなと思いました.”

“For the time being, it was a win in terms of results, and in terms of the content of the match, I think we were able to fight in a way that allowed both of us to get a read on how the other person was going to come at us… but what I can’t read is Rika Tatsumi. There’s still about a month to go, so I’m going to think about how Rika-san comes at me in each and every match. Today I was with Wakana, and I had a good feeling about it. It felt good.”

Uehara: “Yay! I’m glad!”

Miu: “How was it, Hamamatsu?”

Uehara: “It was Miu-san’s preview match, and I was also facing HIMAWARI-san, so it was a showdown between the two who fought in the ‘Next Generation’ final, and who also teamed up and challenged for the tag belts, so today was a big match for me as well. We won the match, and my match for (July 20) Korakuen hasn’t been decided yet, but I want to do my best as we head into Korakuen.”

Miu: “That’s good. Summer is starting. The rainy season is here, so summer is starting.”

This was a bit tough to translate: “ジメジメしてますが、また頑張ります.”

“It’s dreary out, but I’m going to do my best again.”

Rika and Himawari’s comments:

This was a bit tricky:

辰巳「やられて…しまってません。やられてないよな？」

Tatsumi: “I wasn’t pummeled. I wasn’t pummeled, right?”

HIMAWARI「…はい」

HIMAWARI: “…Yes.”

Tatsumi: “But I faced the champion Miu for the first time in a while, and I really felt how much of a threat she is. I felt the kind of pain I least want to experience. But I was able to come to Hamamatsu for the first time in a long time today. I want to come here again, so the next time I come, I will absolutely bloom out of season as the champion, so please look forward to it.” (to HIMAWARI) “Tell them.”

HIMAWARI: “…Yes?”

Tatsumi: “HIMAWARI will also do her best. Don’t lose.”

HIMAWARI: “I won’t!”

This next part was a bit difficult to translate (NG is often a problem…):

辰巳「（後楽園まで1カ月くらいあるが未詩とどんどん対戦していきたい？）やりたくないですけどね。NGです。（NG？）はい。でもカード組まれたらいなきゃいけないので。NGではあります」

(You have about a month until Korakuen. Do you want to fight Miu more and more?)

Tatsumi: “No, I don’t want to. It’s not good.”

(Not good?)

“Yes. But I have to do it if that’s on the card. So it’s not good.”

And that’s it for that one! I actually have already made some progress on the presser, so hopefully I’ll be able to get that done fairly soon.

[rodan]

@fallynleaf

Well, one mental breakdown later, and I’m finally back with the next translation.

@fallynleaf

Nao’s comments were a bit tricky right from the start: “試合の前に志乃のSNSで「刻み込みにいく」みたいなのを見てたんだけど、見たら本当にわかるんだけど、ビックリしました。私は絶対に負けないけどねと思っていたし、あまり志乃と試合をするタイミングがなかったけど、それにしても「こんな底力持っているの？」みたいな.”

Kakuta: “Before the match, I saw something like ‘I’m going to leave an impression’ on Shino’s social media, and truthfully I get it, but it surprised me. I thought, ‘but I absolutely won’t lose’, and the timing never worked out for me to have many matches with Shino, but even so, I was like, ‘she has this kind of hidden strength?’

I think this is basically okay, but I think it could be spiffed up a bit to have more oomph in English.
Here’s Shino’s tweet in question:

奈穂さんと戦うことあまり無くて奈穂さんが卒業すると知って、巡り合わせ的にもう戦うことは無いのかもしれないなって勝手にしゅんってしてたけど、シングルを組んで頂けて本当に嬉しい！だから奈穂さんに鈴木志乃を刻み込みたいと思います！！！

And here’s relevant definitions from weblio:

刻み込む
１ 細かく刻んで他のものの中に入れる。「漬物に昆布を—・む」
２ 文字などを彫りつける。「碑に和歌を—・む」
３ 心に深く記す。「強烈な印象が脳裡に—・まれた」
底力
ふだんは表面に出ないがいざというときに出てくる強い力。「大事な場面で—を発揮する」

Based on all that, I would translate Nao’s summary of Shino’s sentiment in the tweet as “I’m going to etch my name into her memory!” or “I’m going to make absolutely sure she can’t forget me!” that kind of thing - a bit stronger than “make an impression”, more like she’s going to make sure Nao can’t come away without an impression. That surprising strength of phrasing is then what Nao reacts to.

And so I’d tweak “she has this kind of hidden strength?” to something similarly a bit more with upped surprise, like “(dang, ) where’d she been hiding that strength?” or that kind of thing.

I would also personally probably tweak “but I absolutely won’t lose” just because of the unfollowed けど not always reading most smoothly as just a similarly untethered ‘but’ in English. Maybe “Sure, but I absolutely won’t lose” or “it’s not like I’m gonna lose though”

@fallynleaf

This was also tricky: “後輩いっぱいいるけど、その中で勝てなくてという志乃が、デビューした時の自分に重ねるというのを実は意外とこっそり言ってて.”

“I’m saying on the sly that Shino, who has a lot of juniors, but can’t get any wins among them, there’s a lot of overlap with my own debut.

I would probably slightly tweak “I’m saying” to “I’ve been saying” for naturalness, and an impression strengthened by her saying ずっと there in the video.
I guess while I’m at it I would change “can’t” to “couldn’t” since hey she did win that one time…

For another part, I think the translation came out fine, but I think a small transcription quirk may have made it a bit trickier to get there in sort of a weird way: the verb she used was 重なる (and that’s what’s in the tweet version) rather than 重ねる.
It’s a little hard to wrap the head around fiddly grammar details like that even with this hinative but I suppose thinking about it it’s as simple as 重ねる is transitive so it doesn’t completely scan right in the transcript since Shino is the thing 重なる’ing and also the subject (since the real verb used is 重なる), probably making it feel a bit weirder than it would otherwise while translating it.

@fallynleaf

The まず in this was tricky: “今日は奈穂さんとシングルができたってことで、まず組んでもらえたのがすごくすごく嬉しかったです.”

“I’m really happy that I got to have a singles match with Nao-san today, and that we were able to team up to begin with.

I would say here probably the 組む is in the like, having a match, grappling with me type sense rather than teaming (always interesting how similar those two things can sound huh…).
In the video, she starts saying すごくすごく after ってことで but interjects with the other part, so in the original there’s a trailing off and they’re both things she’s really happy about. I would probably interpret the まず as like (simplified) “I got to have a singles match with Nao (and I’m happy about that), and first of all I’m really happy she let me fight her”

@fallynleaf

だから運命の巡り合わせ的に闘えないんだろうな～って勝手に寂しくなっちゃってたんですけど。

@fallynleaf

So I thought we were fated to never be able to fight, and I was feeling sad.

Tiny and not really important tweak, but I would probably swap in “I got to thinking” for “I thought” to try to convey more of the flavor of 勝手に寂しくなっちゃってた.

@fallynleaf

奈穂さんにはすごく色んなところで気にかけていただいたり、私の気持ちとかにすごく寄り添ってくれたり。私のこんなところまで見てくれてるの？ってところまで見てくださったりして.

@fallynleaf

Nao-san showed me a lot of care, and she was near and dear to my heart. It was like, she’s looking at even these parts of me?

I think my attempt would be something maybe more like “Nao-san showed me care in lots of ways, and she engaged closely with my feelings. I could tell she saw parts of me I was surprised she was aware of.”
That attempt also isn’t… great… But I think the general idea is that she’s expressing appreciation for how much Nao engaged with her emotionally in the match and its storytelling (rather than e.g. talking about her in general outside of the match) and something about the phrasing also just makes it tricky to find exactly the right wording.

@fallynleaf

I wasn’t quite sure about this: “別に油断してたわけじゃないけど.”

“I didn’t mean to let my guard down.”

I would say that’s not quite the right sense. More like “It’s not like I even particularly let my guard down…”
I should maybe spoiler-tag this since it’s later on in the Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar! but わけじゃない is like, “it’s not like such-and-such (is the case)” and I would say if you 油断してた then you were letting your guard down (rather than trying to let your guard down). So, “It’s not like I was particularly letting my guard down (but she beat me anyway, how frustrating!)”

@fallynleaf

This was a bit tricky: “大事なところって言ってくれたけど、その時も私が取られてて.”

“You talked about crucial moments, but I was the one who lost then, too.

I think this is probably right! I’m just butting into mention that man she says the “って言ってくれたけど” so fast in the video that I just gotta think that that’s the transcriber guessing/assuming a little, I just gotta. The くれた part is really mumbled maybe it’s meant to be something else that would fit in a little more?? but I dunno.

@fallynleaf

I had some trouble wrangling this sentence: “そうですね。でも誰と来てもきっとまっすぐに熱い試合をするだろうし、私たちもそれに負けないように闘うだけです.”

Suzume: “I see. But no matter who it is, we’re going to have a straightforward and passionate match, and we’re just gonna fight so that we won’t lose to whoever it is.”

It doesn’t really matter but I would say the そうですね is more directly like “Yes,”

@fallynleaf

Took a few creative liberties with this to get it into more natural English, but I’m pretty sure I interpreted it right: “（場内の反応に）なんかあんまり浜松の人はウナギ…（笑）”

Miu: (in response to the crowd reaction) “Something tells me that people from Hamamatsu aren’t big eaters of eel.”

Yeah I think that’s right!
In the video it sounds to me like she finishes with 聞いたことがないよ then to the crowd ウナギ有名ですか？ which had me wondering if maybe there was some kind of reference I was missing like Unagi being an obscure Up Up Girls song or something to do with Unagi Sayaka and Hamamatsu… but as far as I can tell I think she just meant like “they haven’t heard it (mentioned as a Hamamatsu specialty). Is eel famous (as a Hamamatsu specialty)?”

@fallynleaf

辰巳「やられて…しまってません。やられてないよな？」

Tatsumi: “I wasn’t pummeled. I wasn’t pummeled, right?”

HIMAWARI「…はい」

HIMAWARI: “…Yes.”

I would go with “we” here, and tweak “…Yes.” to “…Right.”

Otherwise, Oooh I bet there’s one of those really great glittering translations out there that manages to preserve the joke in that first part, of her changing the phrasing mid-sentence to make it into a Rika-ish denial of reality.

The closest I can think of is maybe… “We were completely… NOT defeated! We’re not defeated, right?” with the slight disconnect between the adverb and what it eventually connects to conveying the joke.

@fallynleaf

This next part was a bit difficult to translate (NG is often a problem…):

辰巳「（後楽園まで1カ月くらいあるが未詩とどんどん対戦していきたい？）やりたくないですけどね。NGです。（NG？）はい。でもカード組まれたらいなきゃいけないので。NGではあります」

(You have about a month until Korakuen. Do you want to fight Miu more and more?)

Tatsumi: “No, I don’t want to. It’s not good.”

(Not good?)

“Yes. But I have to do it if that’s on the card. So it’s not good.”

I would probably go with “not allowed” here for all three uses. She’s saying in a threateningly and amusingly Rika-ish manner that booking a card with her vs. Miu in that time is as far as she’s concerned, right out.
Like, if it gets booked she’ll have to do it (but she doesn’t want to), so it’s not allowed (to book that match). With a bit of an implication to me that the consequences could potentially involve strangulation…

“I won’t allow it” woud scan smoother in English, but I think actually probably what makes it funny is specifically that she’s saying directly like “it’s not allowed”/“it’s right out” and not “I won’t allow it” as though her word is inherent law, in that unusual grandiose way that Rika has.

[rodan]

週刊プロレス No.２２７４ (from November 2023)

(It’s a short one that I mostly did like a week ago)

[rodan]

I’ve got some accumulated notes on a sort of weird smattering of wrestling shows I watched since last time:

Marigold Fields Forever
木村花メモリアルマッチ～テレマカシー♡
NOAH Wrestle Magic 2024
Stardom Flashing Champions 2024
AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door

I’m actually in the middle still of Stardom The Conversion, and I want to get around to watching at least Despe Invitational and Cross.
Feel free to let me know of course if I should not post Marigold notes or anything like that.

[fallynleaf]

Marigold

@rodan

Feel free to let me know of course if I should not post Marigold notes or anything like that.

Well, it’s not really the posting that bothers me, but rather the legitimizing of the promotion by people giving it their time/money and talking it up, I guess. But I can’t stop anyone from watching what they want to watch, just as I can’t stop people from watching WWE, and I can’t stop people from watching Ospreay matches and giving them a billion stars. I wish people would give time and money to non-Rossy-Ogawa projects instead, but I’m starting to realize that this is pretty much hopeless, because wrestling fandom has always cared more about cool matches than the safety of women.

So really it’s on me to leave if I’m not comfortable with that rather than try to police what other people watch. And Marigold is proving to be kind of the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. That coupled with the WWE lawsuit coupled with the Jericho/Ric Flair/Ospreay stuff in AEW coupled with the Alberto/Matt Riddle/Cuatrero stuff in AAA is just too much. I don’t know if I’ll be able to stick around in wrestling fandom if things keep going like this.

But that’s a me problem, not a this thread problem. People can post whatever they want in here as long as it falls within the parameters of Japanese pro wrestling. I just can’t guarantee I’ll stick around to read it.

I think I remember Masa Kitamaya getting that single trickle of blood from a headbutt thing, which I’ve seen happen before – which made me suddenly realize that’s probably not a one-off thing and probably like, a specifically intended (or even worked?) outcome?

Yeah, that’s a spot he does a lot. It’s… not my favorite spot (not a fan of headbutts in wrestling just in general…).

Someday I should really probably learn to appreciate and respect the history of the NOAH jr. division because I feel like that’s generally where my endurance flags on these shows is I just don’t feel invested in it.

The NOAH jrs are honestly a lot of fun! My favorite story they did was with Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada (their tag team was called 桃の青春), but unfortunately Harada had to retire due to his health, so that’s the end of the Peaches of Youth…

The jr division is extremely chaotic and is full of faction shifts and random backstabbing. It’s honestly a bit much for me (a tag team monogamist lol), but they’ve told some interesting stories. And the Peaches of Youth managed, against all odds, to stay together from the time of their 2020 reunion all the way to the end of Harada’s career. So sometimes the NOAH jrs will surprise you like that.

The commentary I think mentioned that Takase is a Monday Magic stalwart? Maybe I should try some Monday Magic.

Yeah, she’s often in those shows! At least when I was still watching them (pre-Marigold involvement…).

I always forget who the NOAH guy with the really terrible rumor about him is, and checked if it was Ohara and yep, it sure is. I went down a little bit of a rabbit hole looking into it – the original source of the accusation has been edited out (which is fair) but it’s archived on the wayback machine and seems pretty damning in terms of who said it and the timeline, so yeah fuck that guy.

Yeah, my Japanese friend is one of the people who brought that to the attention of NOAH’s English speaking fandom. It’s… pretty bad. I basically won’t watch matches which contain him anymore.

I actually ended up waking up in the very early morning and watched Shoko Nakajima coincidentally stream Pokemon in English to study the language, which compelled me to set up a twitch account to comment help on particular phrases or idioms that would be hard to search.

I’m charmed by the fact that Japanese speakers play Pokemon to study English just as non-Japanese speakers play it to study Japanese, haha.

My #1 takeaway was definitely that Swerve Strickland rules. He’s the one that made me most tempted to watch AEW while I haven’t been the last chunk of time, and yep that’s still going to be the case for sure (certainly very interested in catching at least the next Swerve vs. Hangman, if not even going back to see the others).

If you don’t watch at least the deathmatch, I recommend reading my review of it in my wrestling journal. I was gonna write a bit more about it and do a matches of the year list (because it’s in there despite being a match I literally could not watch most of), but I’m not sure my 2023 wrestling journal is ever going to actually get finished, at this rate… There’s just no incentive to work on it with it having zero readers and me having zero energy .

There’s one Very Notable Thing that happens in that match that came up multiple times directly after it and will likely continue to come up, but I don’t want to spoil what it was if you don’t know and want to go into the match blind. It’ll leave an impression on you, that’s for sure.

EDIT:

Forgot to respond to this:

@rodan

I want to get around to watching at least Despe Invitational and Cross.

Both of them were very good!!