Horrible karaoke aside, Ayako's translation seems much better than Mazui's. There is a huge disparity in how they translated the lines this episode.Originally Posted by RyougaZell
Railgun (and Index) are pretty technical shows, often not too far below the likes of Ghost in the Shell or Real Drive, and Mazui's was largely...lacking in that department.
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1)
Mazui: Don't give up so easily. Also...I didn't get dragged into this. I decided to get involved myself.
Ayako: So, don't give up so quickly. And also...it's not going to hit you...What I'm saying is that I might hit you.
2)
Mazui: That's the same insulating forcefield I used before...
Ayako: It's using the same type of dielectric polarization field I used.
3)
Mazui: The electricity isn't directly hitting, but the head from the sheer force of electricity she's throwing at it is melting away the surface of its body...
Ayako: The electric shock isn't hitting directly? However, the surface of the body is being destroyed by the heat of the electrical conduction resistance.
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Now, I won't say that I know enough Japanese to actually know which one of these is accurate. However, at least for 2) and 3), I think Ayako has the edge. Kiyama is an accomplished scientist, and she speaks in a rather technical manner. Ayako's translation seems far more appropriate.
The bigger problem is 1). There is a vastly different meaning to these two sentences. Unlike the latter two, it isn't a matter of editing and translational wiggle room that allows for a different delivery of the lines. The two mean completely different things. Again, I can't say which is correct, but I would like to know.
Still, that doesn't excuse the ridiculous karaoke Ayako did, and worse, tying it directly to the subtitle track and not offering a separate karaoke-free track like gg did for the song-laden Macross Finale.
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