Video: Your Fragile Male Ego in Translation (The “Tsundere” Controversy)

Fragile Male Ego

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The translation of the word “tsundere” as “fragile male ego” in a four-year-old English version of a video game sparked a firestorm on Twitter. Our panel of translators discusses how this shows some people in Western anime fandom don’t understand the nature of translation. We discuss what makes a good translation, the difficulties inherent in the translation process, and what’s REALLY driving this type of criticism.

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The translation of the word “tsundere” as “fragile male ego” in a four-year-old English version of a video game sparked a firestorm on Twitter. Our panel of translators discusses how this shows some people in Western anime fandom don’t understand the nature of translation.

From the Unseen Japan Crowdcast. Panelists:

Jay – Publisher, Unseen Japan Site and Japanese translator based mainly in Seattle.

Sachiko – Japanese feminist and translator based in Tokyo.

Kazuma – Half-Japanese translator, trans-masc, LGTBQ+. Based in Germany.

Mercedez – ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) and Japanese translator based in Fukushima.

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