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Translations in Japanese Media

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Author: Matthew

Ghost Trick’s Hidden Naming Theme of Buddhism and Death

October 31, 2023 Matthew Articles, Lost in Localization One comment

Ghost Trick’s characters are all named after Buddhism or death in Japanese. We take a deeper look and uncover new information.

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The Most Cultured Meme: New Translation Reveals Hidden Depth in “Japanese Goblin”

August 3, 2023 Matthew Articles, Lost in Localization 5 comments

A retranslation of the viral song “We Are Japanese Goblin”, an analysis of its lyrics, and explanation of its cultural references.

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A screenshot from a trailer for Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp. Andy says, "Awesome! What's an airport again?"

Was Advance Wars’ Andy More Airport-Savvy in Japanese?

February 9, 2023 Matthew Articles, Lost in Localization 4 comments

The “What’s an airport?” line was pretty much the same in Japanese, but a translation error earlier in the script changed the context.

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How to Read Yakuza Zero’s Perplexing Pager Codes (Part 2)

September 19, 2022 Matthew Articles, Lost in Localization Leave a comment

Return to 1980’s Japan for one final, optional battle with super-hard Japanese numeric wordplay (goroawase) to understand the last three pager codes in Yakuza 0!

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How to Read Yakuza Zero’s Perplexing Pager Codes

September 15, 2022 Matthew Articles, Lost in Localization Leave a comment

Find out how Kiryū and Majima look at a string of seemingly-random numbers on their pager and somehow extract meaning from them.

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Did Xenogears Really Fear a Lawsuit from “Star Trech?”

September 1, 2022 Matthew Articles, Lost in Localization One comment

An explanation of the untranslatable joke from the Japanese version of Xenogears that led to an infamous fourth-wall breaking joke in the English release.

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A Mokou Fumo cowering in a corner in fear of a jelly donut.

Why Does Touhou’s Mokou Think Jelly Donuts are Scary?

August 4, 2022 Matthew Articles, Lost in Localization One comment

Unraveling the layered context behind the immortal Mokou’s surprising expression of fear for jelly donuts in Touhou Eiyashou: Imperishable Night.

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Why is Mistwalker’s Description Wrong in Advance Wars DS?

August 1, 2022 Matthew Articles, Lost in Localization 4 comments

Looking at the English and Japanese descriptions of the Mistwalker skill in Advance Wars: Dual Strike to find out what went wrong.

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The Mysterious Origin of the Name Belnades in Castlevania

July 14, 2022 Matthew Articles, Lost in Localization 9 comments

A look into the name “Belnades,” its origin, its meaning, and the various ways it has been localized across multiple Castlevania games.

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