Finished translating the June 7 show, which was a longer than usual translation because it was setting up a couple title matches.
The first match on this show was another TPC qualifying match, which was between Himawari and Mifu. Would this be the first step in Mifu’s climb to the top of TJPW? Not this year, apparently! Himawari walked away with the victory this time.
Himawari’s comments:
HIMAWARI “Yes, I won!”
The first chunk of this was a bit tricky to know what to do with in the translation: “とりあえず予選1回戦？ 次がまた誰と当たるとわかんないけど、それを勝ちあがったらプリンセスカップに出られるということで.”
“Then I got through the first qualifying match? I don’t know who I’ll be facing next, but if I win that one, I’ll be able to participate in the Princess Cup. I couldn’t participate in the Princess Cup last year because I went to England. All my genmates participated, so I felt super disappointed.”
I wasn’t sure about 夏女 in this, and also couldn’t decide whether to make sunflowers plural or singular… “今年はまずプリンセスカップに出ることを果たし、勝ちあがるということを、夏女なんでやっていきたいと思います。今年は向日葵を咲かせていい夏にしたいと思います.”
“This year, I want to make it into the Princess Cup, and I want to get the win as a summer girl. This year I will make the sunflower bloom and make it a good summer.”
(Was this your first singles match with your genmate Ashida?)
“Yes, it was. We both debuted in the same year and are the same age, so it was a super fated encounter, but we’d never properly faced each other, so this was the first time, and her kicks were amazing.”
This was a bit tricky to translate: “蹴りがすごいし体が柔らかいし、身体能力が高いしだったから、結構まあね…まあまあ、まだまだ負けないですけど、私はね.”
“She had great kicks and her body is flexible, and she’s physically very talented, so she’s quite a bit… well, but I won’t lose to her just yet! It was a lot of fun, though. It was my first time fighting someone my same age and generation.”
Mifu’s comments:
Ashida: “I lost. I’m really disappointed.”
I mostly struggled with translating the beginning part of this: “今回、団体からいただいたトーナメントに参加できる、私にとってはすごい大きなチャンスだと思ったので、トーナメントに参加して優勝したいと本当に思っていたんですけど、予選で負けてしまうなんて正直思ってなかったし、これがプロレスの厳しさというのを教えてもらった一戦だったし、あとは改めて同期に負けたくない、まだまだ自分が頑張らないといけないなと改めて思った試合になったので、またこれから前を向いて、上を向いて頑張りたいと思います.”
“The promotion giving me the chance to participate in a tournament, for me that was a big opportunity, and I really wanted to participate and then win the tournament, so losing in the qualifying round was something I’d never expected. That match taught me just how punishing pro wrestling is. It also made me realize again how much I didn’t want to lose to my genmates, and it showed me that I still have to work hard, so I’m going to think positively from here, and I will do my best while looking upwards. I hope you will continue to support me.”
(You faced HIMAWARI, whom you tagged with in your first match after joining the promotion)
“HIMA-chan is my genmate and also is the same age, so we formed a tag team in my debut match (for this promotion), and she’s a roster member I’m pretty close with normally, so on the one hand I was really excited to see what kind of match I’d get to have with HIMA-chan today, but her determination came through loud and clear from moment we shook hands, so I didn’t want to lose to HIMA-chan’s resolve, and I wanted to make it clear that there were others in her generation here with that same strength of feeling.”
Then Daisy Monkey teamed up with Jada Stone against Miu, Arai, and Moka, and Moka got the pin over Suzume, which set her up to challenge for the International title. Here’s the in-ring stuff:
Miyamoto: “Suzume-san… I’ve challenged for that belt you have several times. But I’ve still never had it, and for me it has always been a belt I’ve yearned to have. Just now, I was able to beat Suzume-san, who holds that belt. Please let me challenge for it!”
Suzume: “For me, too, it’s a belt that I’ve finally, finally reached. Every time I defend it, it becomes more and more precious to me, and I don’t want to part with it, and I have so many reasons why I don’t want to lose. But I felt Moka’s strong feelings in the match we just had as well as in her words, and I also want to fight her. So let’s fight with this belt on the line. Let’s do it on July 21! At Ota City General Gymnasium!”
Miyamoto: “I am looking forward to it!” (after the photos are taken) “Please support me!”
Moka’s comments:
Miyamoto: “Since I beat Suzume-san today, I had the opportunity to announce my challenge for her belt. I have challenged twice in the past; the first was against Miu-san, and the second time was against Arai-san. At those times I also really wanted the belt, but I couldn’t win it. This will be my third time. This is the belt I’ve yearned for, so I’m really happy to be able to challenge for it at a big venue like Ota City. This time, there’s a requirement that everyone participating in the Tokyo Princess Cup has held a belt. I’ve never held a belt, so I have to start from the qualifying rounds, but this time there will be a final selection following Ota City, so I hope I’ll be able to participate in that match while holding a belt. Thank you very much.”
I had a really hard time putting this question into English: “今の鈴芽のチャンピオンっぷりというのはどう見ている？”
(How do you think of Suzume as the champion right now?)
“Suzume-san also won the tag belts, and now she won a singles title. I feel that she’s getting more and more confident while holding a belt. Since I’ve still never won one yet, I want to become someone who can make the belt shine like Suzume-san.”
(You want to catch up to her by winning the belt…?)
“I want to overtake her.”
Suzume’s comments:
Suzume: “I heard Moka’s feelings, and I also have very, very strong feelings toward the belt, and after defending it for the past several months, there are so many things that I’ve been able to overcome because I had the belt with me, and there are so many things that I was able to see and things that I wanted to do because I became the champion. I need this belt so that I can move forward, so I absolutely won’t lose it.”
(Is there anything you want to do while you’re the champion?)
"There are a lot of people I want to fight, and as long as I’m holding this belt, maybe the number one thing I want is to defend it more and more against wrestlers from overseas. I defended it against Jada twice, and I really enjoyed having international matches.
This was a bit tough to translate: “インターナショナルなライバルができたことも自分にとって成長というか大きなもの、かけがえのない経験だったので、そういうものをどんどん経験していきたいというのが強いかなと思います.”
“Having an international rival really helped me grow, or rather it was something big for me, and it was an irreplaceable experience, so I have a strong desire to experience more of that kind of thing.”
(What is your impression of Miyamoto as a challenger?)
This was a bit tricky to translate (I worried a bit about the first part being repetitive with “strong”, but then it’s there in the original Japanese…): “もかは芯が強い印象が強くて。たぶん主張をそんなにしないなかで今回こうやって、挑戦というのを踏み出してくれたのがすごく嬉しいなと思っています.”
“I have a strong impression of Moka as someone who is strong-willed. I’m really happy that she took that step and challenged, even through she doesn’t really assert herself that much.”
(Since you lost to her today, do you feel like you have to get payback?)
“Yes, I absolutely am not going to lose again.”
Then Kaya fought Shoko for the MLW belt. I thought this match was awesome! Probably Kaya’s best one yet? Both of them did amazing! It was a nice gem on a small-ish show.
Here’s the post-match:
Nakajima: (to Toribami, who is sitting in the corner of the ring) “Tori… that was fun.”
This part was a bit tricky because at first I thought she was talking about time in the match, but then it seems like she’s speaking about wanting more time broadly: “まだまだ、時間がいっぱい欲しいなって私は思って。より強くてすごいチャンピオンになるために、時間と元気がいっぱい欲しいなって今日思いました。それさえあれば、あとは自分でなってみせます。だからもっともっとすごくなった時に、もう1回やろう.”
'I want to have a lot more time. Today made me think that I need a lot of time and energy to become a stronger and better champion. As long as I have that, I’ll get there on my own. So when I’ve gotten even better, let’s do this again." (they shake hands) “Thank you!” (Toribami leaves) “Misao! It might still be too early, but it makes me really happy that you’re on track to make your return. I defended my belt on my own, but there are so many places that I want to travel to with you. So I’ll be waiting for you.”
Misao: “Of course. First of all, congratulations on your defense.”
This was a bit tricky: “目の前で、中島さんの相変わらずの強さを見て、私…早く早く早く、こっちのベルトの防衛戦したくなったから、元気100倍の状態で、すぐに復帰してすぐに防衛戦、何回でも…100回くらい？ 防衛したいと思うので.”
“Seeing Nakajima-san being as strong as ever right in front of me, I… I want to defend these belts as soon as remotely possible, so I want to come back immediately with 100 times the energy, and immediately defend our belts, over and over again… like 100 times?”
Shoko’s response also gave me a bit of trouble: “ヒーローはね、遅れて帰ってきてね。100倍くらい強いのがヒーローだからね.”
Nakajima: “Heroes, y’know, are slow to make their return. Because having 100 times the strength makes a hero.”
Misao: “So, we, Kyoraku Kyomei…”
At this point, Daydream enters with sasumatas in hand. They trap Kyoraku Kyomei between them.
Tatsumi: “Those tag belts, they look nice. Let us challenge for them! We’ve got you! Let us challenge!”
Nakajima: “Hey, shut up. Daydream, I thought you guys weren’t teaming anymore?”
Tatsumi: “What are you talking about?”
I also thought Daydream had broken up…
I had a bit of trouble deciding on the best/most natural translation for “人のこと振り回しすぎじゃない” here as well as elsewhere in their comments: “もう組まないって言ったり、挑戦させろって言ったり…なんか人のこと振り回しすぎじゃない？”
Nakajima: “Saying ‘we aren’t teaming up anymore’, and ‘let us challenge’… aren’t you kinda being manipulative?”
Tatsumi: “Not at all. I assure you that Daydream is Daydream! So let us challenge! Right, Miu?”
Miu: “Let us challenge!”
I couldn’t figure out exactly what she was saying with this: “ごちゃごちゃうるさい.”
Nakajima: “Your bossiness is annoying. Who do you think was the most disappointed by your absence in the tournament this year? Me and Misao! You guys wouldn’t let us get our revenge, and then you said you weren’t teaming up anymore. I’m honestly really pissed off, and aren’t you kind of late to the party?”
Tatsumi: “Sorry to make you wait!”
Nakajima: “But since you came, I’ll allow it.”
Tatsumi: “Thank you.”
Misao: “Daydream, we’ve been waiting. We, Kyoraku Kyomei, are going to…”
Nakajima: “We’re gonna take you down! Misao, you feel the same, right?”
Misao: “Yes. I wanted to fight Daydream in the tournament, and then beat them to win the whole thing. But they weren’t there… why? Didn’t you say (you were breaking up)?”
Tatsumi: “I didn’t say that! I don’t know anything about that. Do you wanna fight or not?”
Nakajima: “We said we’re doing it!”
Misao: “Alright. Then if you insist, let’s set a date and do it.”
This was a bit tricky: “せっかく享楽共鳴と白昼夢なんでね、でっかいところでぶち上げたいと思います.”
“The long-awaited Kyoraku Kyomei vs Daydream, let’s make a big statement at a huge venue. How about Ota City in July?”
Tatsumi: “Are you sure? Then, it’s set!”
Nakajima: “Since it’s decided, why don’t you release us (from the sasumata)?”
Misao: “I mean, why are the suspicious people the ones with the sasumata anyway?”
Tatsumi: “We’re doing it, then?”
Misao: “We’re doing it in Ota City in July!” (Daydream releases them from the sasumata) “Alright, alright. Then it’s decided…”
Tatsumi: (capturing them again with the sasumata) “Please photograph us like this!” (after the photos are taken) “Then, with that, we’re looking forward to working with you!”
Daydream leaves.
This was a bit tricky to translate:
中島「人のこと振り回しすぎだろ…。そこが隙なんだけどね」
Nakajima: “They’re so manipulative… That’s where they’re different from what you might expect, huh?”
ミサヲ「まぁね」
Misao: “Well, yeah.”
Nakajima: “Then, July 21? Misao will be back by then, Kyoraku Kyomei will be stronger, and the belt I fought Toribami over today, I’ll defend it a lot, and I’ll show loads of people in America that TJPW’s Shoko Nakajima, the Big Kaiju, is really strong. I hope everyone will watch over me as I defend both belts. I look forward to your support! Let’s do our best, once again.”
Misao: “We’ll do our best!”
Nakajima: “Thank you very much for today!”
Misao: “Thank you very much!”
Kyoraku Kyomei’s comments:
Nakajima: “I feel like I really gave it my all. Toribami-san, that was a lot of fun. It made me feel like I really do want to defend this belt a whole bunch of times.”
This was a bit tricky: “東京女子でやるのもすごく楽しいし、アメリカには…MLWはたぶん8月は行くか分かんないですけど、秋からは毎月ほぼほぼ参戦すると思うので。強い奴と試合したりとか、あとは東女の子を連れていきたいですね。実力者をこの団体に見つけてほしい。私とタイトルマッチして、私が負けるかもしれないやつがゴロゴロといる東京女子をアメリカの人に見てほしいなって思ってます.”
“Doing it at TJPW is a lot of fun, and in America… I don’t know if I’ll be going to MLW in August, but I think I’ll be wrestling there almost every month starting in the fall. I’ll be fighting some strong people, and I’d also like to bring some TJPW girls along with me. I want this promotion to find powerful people. I want people in the U.S. to see TJPW, where there are a lot of people I could lose to in a title match. In any case, I want to rack up the defenses. So I’m going to keep doing my best. And… the tag belts!”
Misao: (appearing) “Nakajima-san, congratulations on your defense!”
Nakajima: “Thank you very much.”
I struggled for a bit with this: “私、中島さんの今日の試合見て、6月21日に復帰予定ではあるんですけども、やっぱ試合を直接見る機会から離れてたところから中島さんととりっぴーのすごい防衛戦で.”
Misao: “Seeing Nakajima-san’s match today, I’m scheduled to make my return on June 21, but I saw Nakajima-san and Torippi’s amazing title match after not having had the opportunity to watch matches in person.”
I couldn’t figure out at all what she was saying in the first part here, and then struggled a bit with going from the name Kyoraku Kyomei to just the word 享楽 used normally (I wasn’t quite sure how best to convey that…): “欠場中に1回スピりかけたんですけど、何よりの心を燃え上がらせるのはやっぱりプロレスなんだなって。享楽共鳴ってそういうことだなって。プロレスで享楽しましたので.”
During my absence, 1回スピりかけたんですけど, but the thing that made my spirit burn more than anything was pro wrestling at the end of the day. That’s what Kyoraku Kyomei is about. Experiencing joy through pro wrestling. I was thinking I definitely wanted to have a lot of defenses to make up for the time I’ve been inactive… then those crazy people challenged us." (laughs)
This was a bit tricky: “正直、願ったり叶ったりな部分はあって。今年のトーナメントって私たち優勝したんですけど、ホントにホントにいままで負けてきたタッグチームにリベンジできないっていう…そこがすごく引っ掛かりがあったところなので。ちょっと成仏できたというか。めちゃくちゃだから文句も言いたいですけど、そんな白昼夢が好きだなとも思ったので。上回ってやりたいなとあらためて思いました.”
Nakajima: “To be honest, it kind of worked out for the best. We won the tournament this year, but the tag team we’d always lost to up until this point, whom we’d never been able to get revenge against… that was something that really bothered me. So we were able to kinda put that to rest, or rather I wanted to object because they’re so reckless, but I also kind of like that about Daydream. So it made me feel all over again that I want to surpass them.”
I couldn’t decide on the best translation for this: “ずっと引っかかってたというか.”
Misao: “We’ve been getting mixed up with them for a long time. Or rather, we’ll be able to show that we’re the strongest after all only by taking Daydream down. And I think it would be the absolute best feeling if we could defend the belts at a huge venue like Ota Ward on July 21. We’re going to defend them for sure.”
Nakajima: “We’re absolutely going to defend them!”
(They trapped you with sasumata)
Misao: “I think it’s strange that the suspicious people are the ones with the sasumata.”
This whole exchange was a bit confusing to me:
中島「でも制圧するみたいなことなのかな。深く考えてはなさそうですけど」
Nakajima: “But is it like they’re trying to gain total control of us? It doesn’t seem like they’re thinking too deeply about it.”
ミサヲ「よくよく考えたら理にかなってはいるのかな」
Misao: “If you think about it closely, does it make sense?”
中島「最初から持ってたかもしれないしね。見えなかっただけで。あんまり違和感なかったね」
Nakajima: “Maybe they’ve had them from the beginning. We just didn’t see it. It didn’t really feel out of place.”
ミサヲ「似合ってはいたのがムカつきますね」
Misao: “I’m mad that it fits them so well.”
中島「最初からあったかもしれない、さすまた」
Nakajima: “They might’ve had them from the start, the sasumata.”
(Daydream insisted that they haven’t disbanded)
Misao: “It was like a stopping point… and I feel like Rika-san said it.”
Nakajima: “They are, but… they’re really, really manipulative.”
This was a bit tricky:
ミサヲ「狂わせガールなのよ」
Misao: “She’s a girl who drives you crazy.”
中島「ホントにそう。だから、そういうことなんです。狂わせガールです」
Nakajima: “She really is. That’s what I mean. She’s a girl who drives you crazy.”
ミサヲ「狂わせガールを超えて、私たち享楽共鳴が狂ったタッグになりたいと思いますね」
Misao: “I want to surpass the girl who drives you crazy, and I want to become a tag team where we, Kyoraku Kyomei, are crazy.”
Got a hint for who ジャイアン was thanks to my pixiv dictionary, but I can’t say I’m exactly familiar with the source material, so I don’t know what point they’re making here…
Nakajima: “They’re Gian.”
Misao: “They really are Gian, huh?”
Nakajima: “Rika Tatsumi is Gian, and Miu Watanabe is also Gian. So they’re double Gian.”
Misao: “It’s true. They’re Gian.”
Kaya’s comments:
This was a bit tricky to translate: “初めての挑戦も、やっぱり…っていうのも嫌だけど、どうしても届かなくて.”
Toribami: “My first title challenge was… well, I hate to say it, but I wasn’t able to pull it off. Nakajima-san called it ‘interesting’, and it was fun, but, well, I’m super disappointed.”
This was tricky to translate: “いっぱいイメトレして、これきたらかわそうとかすごい考えて。それがすごいうまくハマったなって思ったんですけど、それでも上回ってくる中島さんの底力の強さが今回身に染みて.”
“I visualized it a lot in my head, and really thought about how I’d dodge when she came at me with this and such. I thought I was really well-suited for this, but it really sunk in just how much Nakajima-san’s hidden well of strength exceeds mine. But now that I’ve had this experience, I’m looking ahead toward the next one. So that I’ll be able to make my next challenge for a belt, too, I won’t stop here, and I will continue to aim higher and higher.”
(Do you still want to win a belt from Nakajima?)
This was tricky: “そうですね。最初にやるなら中島さんとって思ってたし、それで勝てるなら一番いいなって思ってたんですけど。やっぱり一発じゃ、そんな簡単にうまくいかない（苦笑）.”
“Yes, I do. I thought I would face Nakajima-san for the first one, and if I won there, that would be the best. But I knew that pulling it off on my first try wouldn’t be that easy.” (laughs) “I really felt that she’s someone amazing both in terms of the length of her career and her abilities.”
(The fans in the venue were rooting for you)
“Yes. From the moment I entered, everyone was waving their penlights and holding up my merchandise. Their cheers, too… I couldn’t hear them in the second half.” (laughs) “But in the first half, I could hear their incredible support.”
This was a bit tricky: “このままじゃ終われないなっていうのは、途中までは声援で聞こえました。みんなのおかげであんなにいけたなっていうのは思ってます.”
“I could hear their cheers until the middle of the match, that I can’t let it end like this. Thanks to everyone’s support, I was able to make it as far as I did.”
Daydream’s comments:
Tatsumi: “So, our title match with Kyoraku Kyomei has been set for July 21 at Ota City!”
Miu: “It’s decided!”
Tatsumi: “However, Kyoraku truly has monster-class strength right now, so I don’t think we’ll be able to win just like that. So, I guess we have no choice but to go train.”
Miu: “Training!?”
Tatsumi: “We have about one month left, so we’re going to go train! Then we’re gonna go win the belts again! We’re gonna become champions!”
Miu: “What? Training? Scary…”
Tatsumi: “We’re going to go train! So please look forward to it, everyone!”
(Didn’t Daydream break up last summer?)
“No, we didn’t. I didn’t say that.”
Miu: “Rika-san says she didn’t say it.”
(You were talking about disbanding backstage)
Tatsumi: “No I wasn’t!”
Miu: “She says she wasn’t. We didn’t. I think you might have slightly misheard it?”
This was a bit tricky: “（コメントを聞いて未詩も信じられないという表情をしていましたが…）いや、あれですね.”
(You also seemed to be in disbelief after hearing her comments…)
“No, that’s just how it is. It was just a normal break for us to recharge. We didn’t disband!”
Tatsumi: “We were still going.”
Miu: “So it seems!”
Tatsumi: “Everyone, sorry to keep you waiting!”
Miu: “Yay! Daydream!”
(Wasn’t it long for a recharging period?)
This was a bit tricky to translate: “それは知ったこっちゃないです。白昼夢は白昼夢なので。知りません.”
Tatsumi: “I don’t really care about that. Daydream is Daydream. That’s not my concern.”
Miu: “She says it’s irrelevant.”
Tatsumi: “It was a valuable time.”
Miu: “It was a significant time.”
(You split up last July…)
Tatsumi: “I didn’t say that!”
Miu: “No matter how much Rika-san says she didn’t say it, you doubt her this much?”
Tatsumi: (brandishing the sasumata) “I’m gonna catch you!”
Miu: (capturing the reporter together with Tatsumi) “A suspicious person!”
Extremely funny ending, haha. I can’t even complain about them getting back together out of the blue like this, because it does make sense for them…
Oh well, Kyoraku Kyomei just has to beat them and vanquish them for good.
That’s it for that show. I have a frankly terrifying number of shows left to translate if I want to be caught up before the next big show, so I’m going to try my best…
Also, Misao’s third produce show, Hype 3, just happened, and the show was great as usual! I wasn’t planning on translating the whole thing due to a lack of a full transcript and also a lack of time/energy, but I thought I’d at least aim for translating the sort of post-show promo part, since I had a transcript for that.
But then one of my friends offered to help transcribe and possibly also help translate the rest of the show, so we’re tentatively hoping to do that, though it would for sure need to be a group effort, because I can barely commit to the part I’d already planned on doing…
So I’m reaching out to everyone I know who also translates pro wrestling stuff to see if they’d be interested in helping. So far, one other person has expressed interest, and Akira is also interested and is going to help transcribe some of the Japanese lines that are hard for the rest of us non-native speakers to catch.
Once we have a full transcript, it’ll be easier to see how much of a workload we have ahead of us and divide up the work among anyone interested in translating part of it.
rodan, if you’d also be interested in helping translate it, just let me know! And if this thread has any lurkers who’d be down for helping, we’d love to have you! Since the wrestlers are playing different characters for most of the show, it’s not really an issue if a different team of people tackles that translation and gives them a different character voice than I would have. It feels like a fun low-stakes candidate for a crowd-sourced translation. I think Misao would be very touched by it, too.
I thought maybe we could release it with a special charity fundraiser or something, but I dunno. I guess we’ll see if we can get the whole thing translated before making plans… (And whether or not that happens depends on if people other than me will be able to cover most of the translation workload).
That’s a tokusatsu keyword so there is absolutely no doubt!
.
. I hope they go back next year, and that she’s able to actually have a match…