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Reblogged
Translation Errors in Kingdom Hearts 2
Translation Errors in Kingdom Hearts 2
Translation Errors in Kingdom Hearts 2
Editor Notes: Yet another repost from an old side blog. Enjoy :3
Fun fact. Several parts of Kingdom Hearts 2 were mistranslated by the localization team. These translation errors include a hilarious misspelling of Braig seen above ^
These mistranslations also include cutscenes as seen in probably the most well known error:
This scene threw many for a loop back in the day myself included. However after all the theories were thrown and discussions made it turned out this was an error in localization.
You see here in the original Japanese sub titles:
What Roxas is actually saying here isn’t described by a pronoun such as “he” or “she” or anything gender specific.
Rather what Roxas is asking is more akin to “Why did it pick you?” or most likely “Why were you chosen?”
Roxas of course saying this in relation to the keyblade itself as it was the mystery of why Roxas himself could wield that plauged him at times as we seen in Days or scenes from KH2 of Roxas leaving the Organization.
Roxas was Sora’s nobody and so if he could understand why Sora was chosen then perhaps he could understand why he himself had been.
Cultural Differences
One last thing to point out isn’t so much a translation error as a difference in culture. There weren’t many but some questioned what Ansem the Wise meant when he “wrote report 0″ as seen here.
There’s no real error here but just a difference in culture. You see in Japan they dont start their numerical count at 1 but 0.
SOOOOO ironically this was one thing that was translated accurately but shouldn’t have been since the Ansem reports themselves in Japan start at 0 whereas in our versions of the game they begin at 1.
Basically Ansem the Wise, aka DiZ, was saying he only ever wrote KH1 Ansem’s Report #1 while Xehanort wrote the rest.
Do you have any mistranslations or tidbits you’d like to add? Whether it be KH2 or otherwise dont be shy. :D
Adding to this, one sort of mistranslation was having Goofy say His majesty banished Pete to another dimension–when in the Japanese, version they used a gender neutral pronoun there–since in Birth by Sleep, we learn it was Minnie who banished Pete, not Mickey:
And going along with what you said in the cultural differences thing, here we have Merlin talking about the “Zero District,” which normally we would never hear in English (since we start counting with one, whereas in Japan they start with zero).
And speaking of this “Zero District,” I think I agree with Blackdrazon, who wrote in his Kingdom Hearts II retrospective that this line shows that in earlier drafts of Kingdom Hearts II, the Radiant Garden stuff was probably supposed to take place in Traverse Town… because there are no districts in Radiant Garden: but there sure are in Traverse Town (in fact, I’m almost certain that Traverse Town’s First District is called the Zero District in the Japanese version, which is probably what Merlin is talking about here). This was probably from an earlier version of the script and accidentally stayed in there… Unless Merlin is still just magically going to Traverse Town, even though he shouldn’t be able to anymore, lore-wise. Merlin is a powerful wizard, where certain rules of the series don’t affect him for that reason, but ehh.
Well, for that Pete one though, Goofy specifically mentions Mickey by referring to him as “King” (王様), so that’s correct as “His Majesty”. So if it was retconned to be Minnie specifically then that’s less of a translation issue:
For the Roxas one, the “Why were you chosen?” is definitely more accurate as opposed to an insert of “it”, so the ENG did indeed add the context of “he”. It brings about an interesting conversation though I’d say, because there’s the general “choosing” happening between them on the existential level in how Roxas understands it—but for Roxas, he also understands that this choice was also roughly orchestrated by Ansem the Wise/DiZ, which the narrative emphasizes too through his behavior against Nobodies. I don’t think Roxas himself ever made it about the Keyblade choosing Sora, but I definitely could be wrong there (I only remember this being a problem with Xion, but even then he didn’t blame her or anything). I think the ENG translator may have been thinking relative to the interaction of DiZ there for Roxas’ journey, but there is also the use of “わけ” (conclusion from reasoning, reason, cause) being used in Roxas’ sentence too, which makes it even more of “What’s the reason you were chosen?” feeling too, which I think in most examples of it’s uses, somewhat implies like a conclusion drawn from a person? Not 100% honestly, as I definitely see it really being an implicit “the reason” within whatever is being said, but I can see the insert of like a pronoun in some examples too.
Definitely added context by the ENG with “he”, but there’s several ways to understand it could be intentional in what was supposed to be underlying meaning.
The other stuff is funny, though. lol Especially the names. I’d be curious too what the JPN of the journal is, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was still an error.
If it helps add to your conversation or pondering I will clarify that I got this info from a very old forum post.
I, sadly, didn’t take screenshots and I doubt the thread still exists but the post itself was after KH2FM but before Days was released into the world.
So the people of that forum were working on the idea that Roxas was asking about the keyblade because the consensus was that Roxas saw the source of his pain or fate as the keyblades fault.
There was also a interview that stated he left the Organization due to having dreams about Sora. Naturally, after Days such quotes are moot but that also played a role in the mindset.
You could argue it holds slight truth post-Days due to Xehanort’s speech about time travel and “etched” memories but that’s not concrete either. Just another way to look at it since you could see it as Xion motivating him subconsciously or Roxas having a subconscious desire to know “why you?” despite not remembering Xion at the time since both their fates were tied to Sora’s revival.
It’s not entirely implausible since Xehanort made it clear how potent even forgotten memories can be. To the point that he broke his own time travel rules just by stating it.
It’s also possible that Roxas is asking in a broad statement since the world itself seems to be vehemently against him existing which isn’t entirely wrong to believe.
After all, even if they develop hearts of their own a Nobody will eventually disappear. If they are destroyed prior they also become the original person.
For a nobody with such a strong sense of individualism it’s very much a big existential terror for Roxas to have and question.
Yeah I only saw this due to some recent reblogging, but it still holds up as an interesting topic!
I do lean a little more towards it as Roxas doing the existential, worldly questioning of it all as a reflection of the inevitable nature of his existence as a Nobody he has to accept. That shows in the other areas where puts this into question too, or rather where he affirms it solemnly like in DDD when talking to Sora.
The JPN scene in KH2 could very well have kept up that trend, but it's interesting that the ENG does allow for a flexibility in specification there within the writing room. It's nice to know at least the ENG translators (3 of em') were at the Tokyo office like usual (BBS is the only real exception in this case), so who knows, could be intended context or just a minor slip up of understanding context.
Reblogged
Translation Errors in Kingdom Hearts 2
Translation Errors in Kingdom Hearts 2
Translation Errors in Kingdom Hearts 2
Editor Notes: Yet another repost from an old side blog. Enjoy :3
Fun fact. Several parts of Kingdom Hearts 2 were mistranslated by the localization team. These translation errors include a hilarious misspelling of Braig seen above ^
These mistranslations also include cutscenes as seen in probably the most well known error:
This scene threw many for a loop back in the day myself included. However after all the theories were thrown and discussions made it turned out this was an error in localization.
You see here in the original Japanese sub titles:
What Roxas is actually saying here isn’t described by a pronoun such as “he” or “she” or anything gender specific.
Rather what Roxas is asking is more akin to “Why did it pick you?” or most likely “Why were you chosen?”
Roxas of course saying this in relation to the keyblade itself as it was the mystery of why Roxas himself could wield that plauged him at times as we seen in Days or scenes from KH2 of Roxas leaving the Organization.
Roxas was Sora’s nobody and so if he could understand why Sora was chosen then perhaps he could understand why he himself had been.
Cultural Differences
One last thing to point out isn’t so much a translation error as a difference in culture. There weren’t many but some questioned what Ansem the Wise meant when he “wrote report 0″ as seen here.
There’s no real error here but just a difference in culture. You see in Japan they dont start their numerical count at 1 but 0.
SOOOOO ironically this was one thing that was translated accurately but shouldn’t have been since the Ansem reports themselves in Japan start at 0 whereas in our versions of the game they begin at 1.
Basically Ansem the Wise, aka DiZ, was saying he only ever wrote KH1 Ansem’s Report #1 while Xehanort wrote the rest.
Do you have any mistranslations or tidbits you’d like to add? Whether it be KH2 or otherwise dont be shy. :D
Adding to this, one sort of mistranslation was having Goofy say His majesty banished Pete to another dimension–when in the Japanese, version they used a gender neutral pronoun there–since in Birth by Sleep, we learn it was Minnie who banished Pete, not Mickey:
And going along with what you said in the cultural differences thing, here we have Merlin talking about the “Zero District,” which normally we would never hear in English (since we start counting with one, whereas in Japan they start with zero).
And speaking of this “Zero District,” I think I agree with Blackdrazon, who wrote in his Kingdom Hearts II retrospective that this line shows that in earlier drafts of Kingdom Hearts II, the Radiant Garden stuff was probably supposed to take place in Traverse Town… because there are no districts in Radiant Garden: but there sure are in Traverse Town (in fact, I’m almost certain that Traverse Town’s First District is called the Zero District in the Japanese version, which is probably what Merlin is talking about here). This was probably from an earlier version of the script and accidentally stayed in there… Unless Merlin is still just magically going to Traverse Town, even though he shouldn’t be able to anymore, lore-wise. Merlin is a powerful wizard, where certain rules of the series don’t affect him for that reason, but ehh.
Well, for that Pete one though, Goofy specifically mentions Mickey by referring to him as "King" (王様), so that's correct as "His Majesty". So if it was retconned to be Minnie specifically then that's less of a translation issue:
For the Roxas one, the "Why were you chosen?" is definitely more accurate as opposed to an insert of "it", so the ENG did indeed add the context of "he". It brings about an interesting conversation though I'd say, because there's the general "choosing" happening between them on the existential level in how Roxas understands it—but for Roxas, he also understands that this choice was also roughly orchestrated by Ansem the Wise/DiZ, which the narrative emphasizes too through his behavior against Nobodies. I don't think Roxas himself ever made it about the Keyblade choosing Sora, but I definitely could be wrong there (I only remember this being a problem with Xion, but even then he didn't blame her or anything).
[Correction: he does make the Keyblade doing the choosing a point in Days]
I think the ENG translator may have been thinking relative to the interaction of DiZ there for Roxas' journey, but there is also the use of "わけ" (conclusion from reasoning, reason, cause) being used in Roxas' sentence too, which makes it even more of "What's the reason you were chosen?" feeling too, which I think in most examples of it's uses, somewhat implies like a conclusion drawn from a person? Not 100% honestly, as I definitely see it really being an implicit "the reason" within whatever is being said, but I can see the insert of like a pronoun in some examples too.
Definitely added context by the ENG with "he", but there's several ways to understand it could be intentional in what was supposed to be underlying meaning.
The other stuff is funny, though. lol Especially the names. I'd be curious too what the JPN of the journal is, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was still an error.
Reblogged
Thinking about Sanji in relation to LuNami and I gotta say:
I don't think he'd seriously mind.
Not after Whole Cake Island, at least.
I can see how before that, especially if we're talking pre-timeskip, he'd have a real problem with it, considering Luffy unworthy of her and thinking that someone like Luffy would just end up hurting her (as unintentional as it could be).
But post-timeskip and after Whole Cake?
After Luffy took his kicks and hurtful words without lifting a finger because he knew Sanji didn't mean any of that?
After Luffy never gave up on him, waited for him, and included what he wanted to do about Big Mom and his "family" in consideration without a second thought?
After Luffy confusedly said that every characteristic of him that Judge despiced and considered a failure were all of his best qualities?
No, I don't think he'd mind if Nami "chose" Luffy.
Don't get me wrong, he'll still make a scene, crying and mourning the loss of one of his mellorimes to his idiotic captain, of all people.
But in the end, it all boils down to two things: Nami deserves only the best; and after Whole Cake Island, Sanji is sure that there's no best than Luffy.
I feel like that brings up an interesting question too: If they did have any thoughts, what do the other Strawhats think about Luffy and Nami's relationship? Not even necessarily as romantic potential, but just in general.
I'm sure most would compose of how Nami's secondary job is knocking sense into their captain. lol But beyond that, it'd be interesting. I feel like Robin, being the type of observant character she is, would say something pretty interesting. And of course Usopp, who witnessed Nami's loyalty to Luffy in Wano. If we were to throw in the movies too, they all observed their bond during Strong World too. Would be interesting to see any of the characters in the series give an opinion about their bond.
People sure like to use the phrase "forcing a view" a lot, but often, I've seen this misused.
Someone isn't forcing anything on you by stating what they believe to be true, with their own evidence, thorough research and reasoning, on their own post, on their own blog. How self-centered to think this. To make it all about you. This is like believing truth, or anything logically pushing towards it, is JUST some scary thing that is "forcing" you to think differently, binding you and "taking" away your ability to think, to compromise, to REFUTE it, or to accept it on your own terms. That....is something for you and another person to figure out. That's a deeper rooted issue that isn't my responsibility to get into.
Anyone can say something is true, whether it is or not, without having to coddle you and remind you of the fact that, yes, you can indeed think differently about it because you're an autonomous human being. That the existence of different thought doesn’t simply cease to exist. It's not my responsibility to remind you of your capability of thought when you're insecure about what someone is saying or for what information exists that you don't agree with—ESPECIALLY when in no way is it being said that someone can't believe something different. Of course you can. This is always going to be true, whether the merit or value of what the belief is. Someone can be an asshole about it, or say something is true nonsensically, but if you can't even tell them WHY and HOW, you're not any better.
There are truths. They exist. There is reasoning and logic, good or bad, rational or irrational. There are things that may not be explicitly truths, but can be supported by evidence and closer reading—this can even open a pathway for understanding of different conclusions if applicable. There are also things that are false, that are not supported, that are intentionally misleading. There are just, straight up personal feelings and thoughts that you don't CARE if it's true or not.
Figuring out what is what—that is what discussion and debate yearns to do. Having this goal or having an argument and evidence for anything—this isn't inherently also a campaign for forcing people to believe something.
Now, if someone was say, invading one or multiple people's blogs, fanart, appreciation posts, etc.—can't even get by with talking about something without another coming in and just essentially pining for attention like a child: "Oh yeah? Well it isn't canon, so."—that's closer to what "forcing" would look like.
And even then, that wouldn't be effective or productive for anyone. "Believe what I'm saying on Tumblr or ELSE!"
Or else what? You're going to go into someone's brain an alter their thoughts and memories?
Yeah, "forcing", and not at all closely resembling anything I've ever said.
If you believe someone is incorrect about something, but your way of "discussing" this is anything akin to "Yeah? Well well....you're stupid! You wrote too much for me to read! And you're wrong!", and that's ALL you have to say? That this is something you wrote out seriously thinking "yeah, this’ll show them"? That you somehow believe in your own importance so much that this passes as an intelligent response?
No.
Not how it works.
If you want to tell someone they're wrong, then you address what they're wrong about with what is then otherwise the supposed correct thing—even if you want to talk about how rude or irrational they were being. You need to still address what was actually said. "You're wrong, trust me bro" isn't going to cut it, nor will just attacking them with nonsensical, insulting comments. You don't show you know what you're talking about or that you CAN even refute what they say if you do this.
"Oh I COULD tell you why you're wrong as I hold ALL the answers, but I won't share because you're stupid!"—You just look desperate, confused, and just like the person described above who would be attempting to force their nonsense onto other people.
And you're just looking to be blocked and stew in your own idiotic bubble.
Reblogged
Ok so we all know about the polaroid right?
Gwen keeps it in her drum set, risks seeing her dad to get it. Yada yada, you get the gist. HOWEVER, I was looking at ITSV clips and noticed that Gwen was looking at the same photo on her phone at the end of the movie.
In this photo the lighting and textures are completely different, and most importantly, it was taken on a digital camera. Now unless Gwen happened to have a Polaroid camera on her, she could not have possibly taken the physical photo in Miles' universe.
Which means Gwen went OUT OF HER WAY to convert the photo she took on her phone into a Polaroid just for the sole purpose of having another one with her
That girl is down BAD!
What's interesting too is the box the photo sits on (it can be quickly missed, it's right when she pulls off her costume from it at the very beginning)—I think it says "Happy Birthday <3 Mom" ?
Which would be so sweet and sad too, that she has this keepsake from her mother, and she keeps the picture of Miles along with to cherish him too, because in a way he's kind of "gone" too.
Anonymous asked:
I almost sent you this ask a few days ago, but after seeing your latest anon, I'm definitely going to send it now: an actual thank you for outlining how Fang & Vanille were written as sisters. As someone that's been in this fandom for as long as the game has been out, I find myself both leery and weary of everyone that claims that F*nille is "basically canon," and the implication (or the explicit accusation, in your last anon's case) therein that everyone who doesn't agree has failed some arbitrary morality check.
This is the only qualm I have with F*nille shippers - a lot of them are pretty chill, but I sure wish the rest of them would stop spreading fanon interpretations like wildfire and then harassing people that don't conform!
Thanks for this! I appreciate it, a lot actually. ^^ It's nice to get one that is on the same page.
I'm right there with you—stuff like that has been around for a while, though in the early days more people were outspoken in how they felt they weren't romantic, even still after LR. I've met some good shippers as well, but in my experience, they are eclipsed by the ones that share the same commentary as the last anon.
All in all, it's "typical fandom" as some say, but I'll never condone it. It just isn't necessary. If what you ship or interpret isn't the truth or isn't based on the tangible evidence, it's fine. Like, it's fine. It's not about how people see things between Fang and Vanille as romantic, whether it's about personal experiences or feelings about their actions, but rather, it's about realizing how limiting those two things can be on the ability to understand and accept when it's something else. There has to be a settle point of what we're actually dealing with. And we can just, talk about it in a real discussion.
Although media can, at times, make it difficult to tell what's what (usually on purpose artistically), these points exist and can still be agreed upon—of what can be considered truth, personal interpretation, open-ended, whatever is the arguable stuff of "this is supported/not supported", etc. When it comes to media, I don't think people realize how easy it is for these lines to blur, especially when there's motivation to do the blurring ourselves—we make it hard, when it can already be hard enough to figure stuff out. Or worse, we make it hard when it's EASY to figure stuff out. So, when the media gives you what you need to understand it, I don't think that should be taken for granted or made irrelevant just because of personal desire to make it so. And sure, there are points outside of just personal that can be made—but recognition of the limitations of said points should still be recognized when discussing possibilities, and THEN weighing the possibility against direct information that supports it. Context and execution still matters.
Fang and Vanille just haven't been treated this way. They haven't been REALLY talked about.
FFXIII fandom has had years to do it, but the forefront of the characters isn't treated this way. There are things said, but never explained completely or logically, such as the points I made in my original post. Those things are regurgitated over and over, but never a real discussion of the actual context and logic surrounding them. "Fang and Vanille slept in the same bed"—you have people say this and spread it around, but not at all, formulate a real discussion about it. But, misinformation and misconceptions spread VERY easily in fandom, like no joke, and they can be treated as truth even though it factually or even logically is not quite right. Certain interpretations take the forefront, even if they're not completely in regard to it's origin. Every fandom probably has stuff like that, I know personally of points in the Kingdom Hearts and Dragon Ball Z fandoms.
Just keep it simple—if what has been described for them allows understanding of everything between them, why SHOULD it be wrong or less viable than something that, well, has not been described? If no conflict exists, why create it? Knowing this shouldn't be hard, it's just when we reach the road blocks based on limitations of knowledge, experience, just personal motivation, etc.
And, if you think there IS a conflict based either on the material itself or your own experience, okay let's actually talk about it. Sure, understanding can still meet it's road block from the above, but even a "agree to disagree" is still better than whatever that anon was. At least the right information is in the atmosphere, where THEN discussions of perspective and understanding can be had.
It just hasn't happened enough, if at all.
In general, the FF fandom suffers with these things a lot from my observance, it definitely isn't just for Fang and Vanille or XIII. It really shouldn't be such a fight to say "Fang and Vanille are like sisters" because all avenues of information and logic are available for this to be understood. It just sucks because, yeah, while I definitely don't want people to feel like they CAN'T ship them, at the same time, I wish the full information and understanding of the characters was at the forefront. Especially when it's actually something that can be appreciated and enjoyed too, and to a lot of people, platonic relationships are something that need to be recognized more often. Not in the casual "oh they're sisters, of course they love each other" way, but rather in what otherwise is a REAL depth that matches, if not, is even sometimes greater than some romantic depictions. And actually have a genuine appreciation of that depth, and not see it as "less" because it's not romantic.
I feel like we could get there for Fang and Vanille, but it just depends on how many more years will there be people willing to share and discuss what pertains to them.
Anonymous asked:
Are you seriously trying to say that seeing fang and vanille as romantic is invalid? This is fandom, there are NO ships that are invalid and not being able to see Fanille as romantic specifically just means you're either homophobic or blind! The only reason you talk about Dion is just because you can't deny it, you have no choice
***This will be a long post, but I will say one thing to be considered outside of what otherwise is a long address to your behavior below, so this can be considered as I move forward for even other readers:
The heart of my main point is that Fang and Vanille have no material that doesn't fit within the context that has been abundantly given to them. Flat out. This has no bearing on how many boxes they can fit into for certain aspects of their actions/relationship (i.e. handholding can have a functionality in many contexts), but what is clear is that they're at least still at home in the one created specifically for them, with context that has no deviation from said meaning definitively or even lesser, convincingly.
Thing is—if someone has an interpretation that doesn't directly coincide with information at every single turn, as if it's all just wrong by the means of your thinking, that the information has no significance and is basically a lie in what it's pointing to, continuously, all the way to the end of the series, while it still has no other information to definitively or full proof, logically conclude it as false—maybe you should either change the configuration of your thinking, or just, include it, and just have both the understanding of "what is" AND your own personal desire and thoughts. And if you think you're correct, or just most likely correct with room for possibility of something else on a technical ground, then find better ways to actually convey that than the anon above.
Now, as for the ask:
***Long post, oh boy.
It is interesting that I've gotten some Asks about Fang and Vanille circulating on Twitter because of FFXVI. Lol I have seen the posts, and also the resistance of it from those who feel like it's looking down on Dion/Terrance (which I kind of agree with, let them have their spotlight).
Overall, we really just shouldn't care too much about that.
A lot of the fandom drama is just bleh at this point (really always was), and when you've seen SO much for years, it's easy to tell what is what. I mean, I'm now seeing people fighting over Jill/Clive of whether they're romantic or not, or if they align more with Clerith or Cloti. Lol Just why.
However, as for what some of ya'll requested from me about Fang and Vanille, to talk about how they're different from Jill/Clive or Vaan/Penelo—I mean, that's easy.
Jill/Clive? It's a random line in her young profile at the beginning that mentions Clive and Joshua "love her as a sister"—the same beginning that immediately has an NPC say Jill/Clive make a "handsome pair", show hardly any typical sibling action, dialogue, or contextual connotation between Jill/Clive in any scene (where they barely really interact until the Moon screen), and the interactions they do have don't really naturally fit into the box of "these two love each other as siblings or Clive views her as a younger sister". Apparently, it's also BOTH the ENG and JPN that mention a sibling relationship. Either way, the game also straight-forwardly writes them as romantic, so it doesn't matter even if it was true or not—unless you're trying to argue he thinks of her as both, there's no doubt they're romantic. Like, seriously, if you haven't finished the game well....trust, you'll find out they're romantic.
Vaan/Penelo? Well first, as far as I'm concerned, the BradyGames guide from years past is the one that carries the assumption that they're "brother and sister". Otherwise, the game, Ultimania, and even the Archive Ultimania only mention they're "like family"—in which case, this is obviously in reference to their orphan past where they were already childhood friends. Reks (Vaan's brother) went to war and Vaan's parents died, Vaan stays with Penelo's family as a result, and then soon after Penelo's parents ALSO died, and then now they BOTH were orphaned along with a bunch of other kids and grew up together working for Migelo as a group of orphans. It's not written for no reason or something that is not true—they're like family. And of course, you know that's a descriptor of a bond, of closeness—YOU can assume it defaults and is limited to a sibling relationship, but technically that's not true, and very often isn't. So, it doesn't even contrast their romanticism (which is hinted at in the 1st game, not just the 2nd), not to mention, it's not even a focus between their characters in the story. The friendship is really the focus, while the family aspect is more expressed for Vaan through dealing with his actual brother's death. The family in relation to their past and part of their bond is definitely a thing, don't get me wrong, but it's hardly emphasized within the game and a center for what they express about and to each other. That'd be the friendship, you just also happen to have romanticism applied eventually as well.
Fang and Vanille, though? It's the major focus of their characters, the family concept flows through them intentionally, consistently, and is also specific to being as sisters. Not to mention, it then is applicable to ALL things shown between them and EXPLAINS their behavior towards each other. In the Games, FFXIII and FFXIII World Previews, Ultimanias + Other credible guides like Piggyback, VA interviews, novelizations—this never stops being true for them and something implemented more than you'd EVER see between Clive/Jill or Vaan/Penelo. And it all "coincidentally" flows together as a whole for the family/sister application.
- FFXIII World Preview - their introduction on the relationship chart is "same family surname". Even before the game's release, the family connotation is applied to them. While we learn the REASON in-world is because of them being from the same village, this more than obviously is for the purpose of serving the continuous family connotation THROUGH Fang and Vanille specifically to emphasis this, as supported by all other points below. Also, just a small thought, why choose this to introduce the characters mysteriously, and then later have a plethora of familial confirmations, if it's something that isn't representative of exactly what it foretells?
- FFXIII Ultimania Chart - "relationship like sisters", enough said. Unlike Vaan/Penelo, it specifies WHAT family relationship they have. They didn't pull back from "same family surname", they took it steps further. The relationship chart is informative of something about the characters, and obviously the content can show something more than just the chosen moniker (e.g. Aqua/Terra/Ven aren't just "fellow pupils"), but it also isn't something that is FALSE information unless the content TELLS you it's false. It normally doesn't, and certainly didn't for Fang and Vanille, as per below.
- FFXIII Scenario Ultimania, Archive Ultimania, LR Complete Guide - literally, everywhere, ESPECIALLY in writings relative to Fang, who is the older sister, protector, and most concerned over the other—this also correlates to why Fang's character centers around Vanille's more than the other way around (more on that later). Her descriptions really capture WHY she is the way she is towards Vanille and why the center of her character is protecting Vanille and keeping her from turning into a Cie'th. The FFXIII Scenario Ultimania even directly says in Fang's profile "Vanille is not just a childhood friend from the same hometown" and guess what works alongside this description: "To Fang, Vanille is an irreplaceable family member", "grew up like sisters", "they have a bond beyond family", “Since the original Final Fantasy XIII, Fang has always strived to protect Vanille, considering her as her own family", etc. etc. etc. Family, family, family. Being friends is absolutely a thing, don't get it twisted, but the family aspect not only in retrospect to growing up together, but in HOW they see each other, is consistent, ESPECIALLY for Fang. The Lightning Returns Complete Guide is from Piggyback, who is known for having the developers involved in the conception of their guides as well, and Toriyama himself is quoted in the book saying Fang considers Vanille as family.
- FFXII Scenario Ultimania Stories - As a bonus, in Benny Matsuyama's short stories for all the characters, including separately in both Fang and Vanille's stories—in both stories, he doubles down on the same things as above, describing how Fang has this strong conviction and vow of protecting Vanille, who is like her younger sister, and wants to stop her from becoming a Cie'th. While Matsuyama's canonicity through BentStuff is a complete other conversation, there is the consideration of the fact he's reiterating something that has already been applied as opposed to making it up, not to mention, his novella and the character he created in the FFXIII Ultimania Omega were made canon, and he's in the staff credits for Lightning Returns.
- FFXIII Ultimania Omega Interview - even Fang's VA mentions how "To Fang, Vanille is like a younger sister", and relates that to why she relates to Fang since she has a younger sister too, and thus understands the strong conviction Fang has in protecting Vanille.
- The FFXIII Game - now I don't think the game itself specifically mentions them being "like sister" (at least in the dialogue, as I've gone through the script of the cutscenes), but the family aspect is something they carry pretty heavily, especially for the group. Vanille's narration talking about family and the regrets of not keeping them as close as you should, Vanille introducing the idea of "On Gran Pulse, everyone is family", Fang and Vanille emphasizing that their village is a close-knit family when arriving to Oerba, Fang assuring Vanille "we have a new family now" and the Ulti Omega doubling down by saying that this line clearly shows how Fang sees the group as her family, and of course, Fang trying to sacrifice herself to fulfill her promise to "protect her family" when the group faces Orphan. Fang's worry and conviction to protect Vanille, and extending this to her expanded family, is shown greatly.
- -Zero Promise- Novelization - the novelization is the treasure trove for Fang and Vanille's context as character, their family/sister relationship (along with friendship, of course), and their past. It even features two direct parallels between Lightning and Fang for the sake of showing how Fang views Vanille like a little sister. Even Vanille, in the moment they became L'Cie at their village, tells Fang about how despite being orphans, they were raised together, and were family. There's also the additional context of Fang being like the "woman/adult" while Vanille is like "the child", emphasizing the child-like personality of Vanille by how she always slept next to Fang (also with other kids in the village, before they became L'Cie) from her fears of loneliness, and Fang recounting this of her looking after her being a "crybaby". Naturally, all of this does naturally fit within a context where there's an older sibling and a younger sibling. There usually isn't, but if there are concerns over canonicity—Jun Eishima, the author of this novel (and the FFXIII-2 novels), was hired directly by SE to write her novelizations and to have them published through SE individually, had them featured in the World Previews of both FFXIII and XIII-2, had another short story called -Episode i- featured with the Xbox 360 release of FFXIII, AND was the Story Advisor for the actual FFXIII-2 game. So, it's safe to say she's an authentic additional party to the series as an author, even more than Matsuyama.
- -Episode i- Novelization - this short story features the group slightly post-the ending of FFXIII. The story shows the groups conviction for saving Fang and Vanille from the crystal stasis, which sets up this same conviction expressed from all of them (especially Snow and Hope) in FFXIII-2. More importantly, how this conviction is shaped by the familial bond they created with Fang and Vanille, and they remark how this meaning came from Vanille's famous line: "On Gran Pulse, everyone is family".
- FFXIII-2 World Preview Book - continuing the trend, Fang and Vanille are described as "like family" once again in the relationship chart. And at this point, we already know HOW they're like family: sisters.
- FFXIII-2 Game/Novelization - This first point is really kind of a bonus that is congruent to the comparison of Lightning and Fang, but in FFXIII-2 when Serah meets Fang for the first time, she talks about how Fang reminded her of Lightning. There's also the "Daughters of Etro" moniker they gain through prophecy and the "Legend of Cocoon" Noel speaks on—this is obviously congruent with the concept of them being family/sisters to one another, it just throws in the context of a connection to Etro. Interestingly enough, the ENG localization also recounts the legend through Noel as them being called "the sisters", as well, though this line of dialogue in JPN from Noel is still "the daughters". This meaning is also talked about within the novelizations Fragments Before and Fragments After.
- FFXIII: Lightning Returns Game - And of course, Fangs conviction to protect Vanille is STILL the center of her character, to the point she leaves Vanille in order to accomplish this. Lightning will remark this, wondering what made Fang leave since they have "a bond beyond/stronger than family". At this point, it's obvious why family is the foundation of this descriptor, but also how it works as a nice descriptor that comments on the strength of this bond, and how it is stronger than the already strong bond of family bonds.
And the most important thing as demonstrated above? They don't stray from this—they build upon it. There's no deviation, there's no making it false, there's no "this is a lie and it's actually romantic". This IS the characters and their relationship—perhaps the most important difference between them and Clive/Jill or Vaan/Penelo. Within all this, there is no "coded/subtext" of romance, when all things expressed in the game fits within ALL that is provided above and is congruent to one another for the same conclusion: Fang and Vanille are family, are sisters, and very much so care a lot about each other. As you can see, it was given in a multitude of ways throughout the existence of all 3 games and corresponding material relative to them. This especially for Fang—a character who is older, has grown up taking care of a younger character in a family setting, and whose main priority is protecting them and looking after them: this doesn't just fit in the sibling/parental [hogosha] box, it is THE box itself. Are there stories that deviate, that subvert this and make it romantic? Absolutely, I've seen them myself. But, it's a deviation for a reason, it's "different than what it appears as" for a reason—because it's not what is natural for a romantic relationship to develop. There's a reason Fang is consistently compared and paired with Lightning, who is also not only just a sibling to Serah, but also a hogosha [parental figure]. I would make the same argument for Fang too.
One thing I've seen actively in the way is the very typical urge to use our personal interpretations more than the content to understand something. The bar for romanticism is REALLY low in how people perceive things, and that's a wider conversation on how media itself was the influence on this, kind of negatively if you ask me. Glorification of romanticism and sex is a thing. Like really, it's what part of me understands HOW people can see Fang and Vanille as romantic, but also, WHY I know they also should be able to see it as platonic, too. I believe this is an important aspect of talking about perception and media. However, we can't be blinded by it—logically or emotionally. There's not a single thing they've done that can't be understood through the lens of what the material has given you to understand it. Use the lens of the information, not your own personal interpretation if you want to KNOW Fang and Vanille. If you want to ship the hek out of them despite this, fine—I don't care about that specifically, but it would be nice if people recognized and also talked about who the characters actually are outside of their headcanon. That way, when things that are just misconceptions are said, people who know better can say something.
Fang originally being a man? Actually, they both were in a sense. And, not only is it a "coincidence" that the construction of Fang's character is centered on her "wanting to save Vanille", but also that one of the reasons Fang was turned into a female was to AVOID the feeling of romance between Fang and Vanille. Interesting how that little detail is left out by those mentioning this (one could even argue it's slightly homophobic, but that's a whole other convo). Either way, it makes sense as to why the center of Fang's character is her conviction to protect Vanille—it's what she was created for, and we see HOW they chose to execute that: to protect Vanille, her younger sister, her family.
Fang and Vanille being like the Ragnarok legend? It's pretty easy to understand what was/wasn't used with the Lif and Lifthrasir comparison. They're a duo, seemingly the last of the Pulse civilization, and associated with Ragnarok—that's where the similarity ends and how far it was utilized, obviously as based on the above. Something done in media all the time is the utilization of concepts, but not ALL details are 1:1. Happens all the time, and when the storytelling is directly referencing the concept itself (like True Love's Kiss or an Act of Pure Love), it's actually a specific point to SUBVERT from romance and apply it differently.
Vanille talking about never sleeping alone? This is literally linked to the "child-like" aspect of her character—of her fears and sadness of loneliness, and quite frankly the trauma of being orphaned. She's never slept alone, and Vanille recounts this in lieu of herself and ALL the orphans (before they're L'Cie)—it wasn't just Fang in her recollection, but Fang is the one she is closest to and relied on the most. Sleeping alone = fear of loneliness. Fang recounts the same idea in lieu of Vanille's "crybaby" personality—"Vanille would always cry, waking up from a bad dream, holding on to Fang and begging her not to leave her alone. She had always been like that, since they were children."—and naturally, this coincides with Fang's role of taking care of her since they were kids. Surely we're not confused on how that fits with a sibling dynamic more naturally than a romantic one? Then lastly, what is probably even the inspiration of this from the -Zero- Promise novel, is the wholesome/sad scene in the FFXIII game when Vanille, after making a deal about Sazh not invading her sleeping space, sneaks over to sleep next to him, crying, and Sazh allows it, calling her a kid. I mean, it's literally outlined three separate times. Nothing to do with romance, it's about Vanille's character. Unless, you really think Vanille was coming onto Sazh as opposed to dealing with trauma. Knowing the internet, I'm sure that's a ship somewhere, but it ain't it.
Fang lifting up Vanille's skirt to see her brand on her upper thigh? That is, to see if she is close to death, being a Cie'th? The very thing she's been stressing about the entire game up to that point? In this, we can also include the ability of Fang and Vanille hugging or holding each other's hands when they're sacrificing themselves. Basically, physical intimacy.
Boy, this one is a rant for me, and it's hard to be nice about it.
The L'Cie brand is practically almost like a wound, and they're constantly in s state of worry of it getting worse, with it being their ticking time clock towards losing themselves to becoming Cie'th. This is one of Fang's biggest concerns for Vanille along with protecting her.
Now, take their outward personalities that reinforce they're not one to make a big deal about seeing skin, their close-knit familial upbringing + being sisters within this environment—supplemented by the info that supports Fang being the older sister whose main concern is Vanille's safety and turning into a Cie'th + Vanille, who is the younger sister and like a "child", them both being females, and how Fang wordlessly moves Vanille to do this while Vanille has no protest, which can be reminiscent of a mother/child, which "coincidentally" flows with the above, etc. If you seriously can't understand in any way how this interaction fits within the information of the above, platonically, and doesn't showcase anything relative to "this can only happen if they're fucking"—then there's not much else to be said other than, maybe expand your understanding of human interaction and personalities in media (not even just JPN, either)? That's the nicest and most understanding way I can put it. Take in anything, where a sibling dynamic and their capability of interaction isn't just bickering and tussling with one another. Please. It's super easy, and has been done before or even further in so much other content, all across JPN media. There's SO many characters with strong sibling relationships. For SE games, also look at FFXIII itself—Lightning and Hope, Hope and Vanille (the beginning), Sarah and Vanille even share a moment when they meet, Lightning and Serah's interaction at the end of XIII-2, etc. It's everywhere. Yuna and Rikku's hug scene in FFX, Aqua's general intimacy towards Ventus in the KH series, etc. There's not a single thing Fang and Vanille has done that isn't covered under what has been given about their characters, and it's not even like, that much. I mean, Elsa and Anna between Frozen 1 and 2 show more I'd say. "B-but, but, hugs in Japanese media are always—". Nope, go read, watch, anything, please. Now, there can be a certain conversation of expectations between say, a female and male (and even this isn't absolute), but between females? Showing physical intimacy and closeness, not only in real-time of the story but also in key art? Super common. Easy.
There's even a conversation for the sake of how Fang and Vanille specifically are the way they are because of this upbringing, so Fang not making a big deal about even checking Lightning's brand despite being a stranger, Vanille and Serah sharing a moment while being strangers, and even how quickly Vanille physically came to comforting Hope at the beginning of the game—it's more about their personalities and familial/close-knit characterization.
Like, c'mon man. There's "I can see this happening between a couple but also know it can happen without it", and then there's "there's no 'heterosexual' explanation for this". One shows understanding and wisdom, the other, either just uninformed or purposely ignorant of the fact that, yes, they give you an explanation. Over, and over, and over again, in multiple sources, in multiple ways, as shown above. Realize the whole "I would never do that with my sister" is not evidential of what CAN and HAS been done for other sisters or sibling characters. I mean, if you're sincerely not use to seeing all types of physical or descriptive expressions that can happen between this configuration of characterization, I'm not sure how you'd make it through most JPN content to be honest and not tell the difference between what's sexual or platonic, or even American content like Four Brothers, The Outsiders, Frozen, etc., without believing all the siblings (blood related or not) are all having sex with each other. Also, I think it's interesting to note that most physical interactions are initiated by Fang, the older sister, who's main priority is protecting and looking after her younger sister—it certainly matches the same energy you'll see from older sisters in JPN media who show love and comfort to their younger sisters.
Fang would "be everyone's enemy/tear the sky down" just to save Vanille and this is like "Snow's language" towards Serah? I mean, have you seen Supernatural? XD Also like, again, ANY JPN content with an older and younger sibling, whose sole motivation and characterization is protecting their younger sibling? It's called conviction (as we covered, Fang was created specifically to have for Vanille), and considering Serah and her happiness is Lighting's "reason for living and her greatest reward", who Lighting has "the same beloved feeling" for that is the same depth as Snow, is what, "coincidentally", Fang herself uses to motivate Lightning to keep going when she contemplates giving up, who Lightning does turn against Cocoon for in order to save, and who is THE most important component to Lightning's agency in the 3rd game and is the key to her character arc—I'm sure Lightning isn't far off from what Fang is. Again, there's the novella equating them, and also, Serah being reminded of Lightning when she finally meets Fang—this conviction to protect and save your loved ones is something, really, all the characters show. It isn't just Snow, nor is it just Fang. And, Fang just so happens to have this conviction in a way that has been repeatedly linked to "protecting Vanille, her younger sister".
Fang and Vanille having a "bond beyond family"? First, notice how family is still the basis of this bond, the conventional relationship type that is the most versatile AND the top signifier of closeness. So "bond" here isn't relationship type, it's in the same vein of the "reason for existing", "irreplaceable", "unbreakable", "most important thing", etc. descriptors that you get to show how a relationship goes beyond just a type, which all the above is beyond simply being family. The logic of romance being "beyond family" also doesn't make any sense because it literally is it's own sector in family—I mean, the conventional point of a romantic relationship is TO become family. Also for this specific phrase, funny enough, I've only ever seen it used platonically or specifically with no romanticism application, e.g. in Boruto, Sakura tells her daughter that her and Naruto became "more than family". It's like literally the same Kanji phrasing too (家族以上 - kazoku ijou). I haven't even seen it used in a romantic context, but I'm sure it very well could be. It's also funny that, Lightning says this about Fang and Vanille, of how Fang would "never just leave Vanille all alone", but "coincidentally" (this is getting fun, huh), Hope says Sazh had mentioned practically THE SAME THING about why they wanted to believe Lightning wasn't in the crystal, that Lightning wouldn't "just up and leave Serah like that".
Vanille's VA says she hopes the games will show how Fang and Vanille "have a bond more powerful than friendship"—I mean, yeah? They're family, something stronger than friendship. Bond-wise? Absolutely. They have a bond BEYOND even that. See the above, how is this specifically and only romantic? Keep in mind, this is also the same interview where Fang's VA directly says "To Fang, Vanille is like a younger sister", seeing herself in Fang because she has her own younger sister, and relates of the feeling of "protecting small children" that comes with this. Like you know, "coincidentally", like how Vanille as a younger sister is also "childlike" in disposition and a "cute, crybaby" to Fang. Neither this phrase or "bond beyond family" are inherently romantic, and they're very applicable to other multiple relationship types because it's for the sake of describing the strength of a bond.
Fang and Vanille still live with each other at the end of LR? You mean, two people who have lived together since they were children as a close-knit family, have a whole arc involving them separating and reuniting in BOTH games, and are thrust into a new world with the two still being each other's closest family? A world of which is also still very different than the one they came from? You mean two people like THAT would still live together? I am shocked and dismayed. I feel a little sassy here because, c'mon. I'd also like to point out that the idea of "never being apart/leaving each other's side" is congruent with their history, but also is something expressed in the storytelling of Vanille's fear of loneliness, in which even WAY back in the FFXIII novelization Zero Promise, she expresses to Fang “We might be orphans, but we were raised together. We’re family. We can protect everyone together. We’ll be together forever… no matter what happens, we’ll never be apart.” when being turned into L'Cie. So, it's very fitting, but also still within the context that is repeatedly there.
Let the material speak for itself. Which it does. A lot. And you don't have to do much other than just finding it and absorbing it. I feel like, there's STILL more that I could say, but this is the brunt gist of understanding Fang and Vanille.
Anonymous asked:
What do you think about how kingdom hearts chooses its theme songs? Some soriku fans are talking about passion being about sora and riku's 'love'....
I mean, Sora and Riku's reunion in the game is obviously a central part of this larger theme of reunion, and it acts as a conclusion to Hikari/Simple & Clean thematically. But it's much more simple than that based on what's been told about it's conception and how it was utilized. For example:
---Following the previous game, Utada Hikaru also sang the theme song for this game, "Passion." Nomura: Many fans seem to have the image Kingdom Hearts = Utada Hikaru so I didn't think of changing that at all. This time I wrote a story explanation for her that's longer than the previous game's. We decided to have it played at the last scene, so for me the theme was "Sora and Riku's reunion." I wrote stuff like "An image of a reunion, a happy moment in a way" and "Like a Hikari 2" in there.
Based on the phrasing, the most optimal understanding for the last two sentences is if "Sora and Riku's reunion" is in regards to their reunion with everyone else, i.e. the last scene where the song played which prompted the thought of said reunion. There's a missing context of "with everyone" there not being said, but that's fine really as something just being said. I mean, highest chances are the "image of a happy reunion" that Utada Hikaru received, amongst other specific things unbeknownst to us (they also wanted to convey a lot of different things)—what they got should have also involved the nature of the last scene considering it's where the song plays besides the intro and features the conclusion to Hikari nicely (even without digging into the undertones then of Sora and Kairi specifically there). I don't think there's a single main theme that isn't inspired by or is detached from the last scene of the game within it's conception. -shrug- So it's pretty important as a focus.
Reunion and Friendship are huge themes in KH2—how is it not going to be about THE ultimate and final, full circle reunion in the game. Come on now. XD
However, even with the implied "Sora and Riku's reunion (with everyone else)", their reunion obviously still is a large part of the wider theme within the game's ending here. Sora literally spent the game looking for him, he thought Roxas had killed him (the word for "defeat" in JPN is the same that Sora used to Mickey when talking about defeating Ansem SoD)—so especially because of the latter, their literal reunion at TWTNW was a big, touching moment. Showing Sora and Riku on the beach (their "symbolic" reunion with their talk on the beach) as the traditional last in-game picture (which is also moments before reuniting with everyone else), thus also makes a lot of sense too for capturing this theme. Even Nojima utilized the friendship between Sora and Riku as a theme for the scenario. But overall, the boys finally together again and reuniting with everyone else back where the game began, and ending with Sora and Kairi cementing it in reflection of a conclusion to Hikari—it's pretty perfect.
So yeah. Still, it does have a specific application that goes beyond Sora and Riku, though. It's a bit different than Hikari's conception and Chikai's application, how those two evidently are a direct reflect Sora and Kairi in conception, but these wouldn't be themes unless they represented something wider and thus, and also had wider application too beyond it's origin. The most easiest way to see this is how it's used for other games—this mostly applies to Dearly Beloved (especially this as THE main theme), Hikari, and Passion, but Chikai is just...directly and exclusively about Sora and Kairi at this current point. lol
Anonymous asked:
Do you know anything about Riku's wrist injury in KH2? Some people are saying the way he runs in KH2 is because of his fight from Roxas
Lol I feel like I remember something about that years ago. I would say it's highly probable, but it could also be just a character design thing if to be consistent. I think both could also exist simultaneously.
To be specific, it being an injury makes sense considering there is evidence that is congruent with that—his left arm was used to block Roxas' attack, that attack which caused him to push himself to Darkness. And it DOES agree with the idea of him running with it at his side, as if it hurts to the point he doesn't want to lift it. His left hand when in a fighting stance is also held lower than what it was in KH1.
These things are indeed agreeable to the injured idea, but not necessarily a "If, then" ultimately. But also, it's just not organic fully in the game consistently if to believed it had such an impact.
For starters, yeah, he uses his arm to block Roxas' attack which connects to the idea it got massively injured, but then the attention of being injured is actually defaulted to the typical "i'm injured" stance as he is knelt down, grabbing his side, and is using his left hand to help hold himself up. Doesn't really give an emphasis on the idea his left arm just took a highly damaging blow specifically. Easily should've used the typical "I'm injured" stance when characters grab one of their arms as it hangs to their side.
Then there's also the fact that, well, it doesn't have the presence of being injured in normal cutscenes of KH2 or 0.2, which if it was organic, this would be present more naturally. Similarly, he DOES use his left hand easily in combat, especially in the final fight with Xemnas. In this whole sequence, he uses his left arm to do a back flip, to create Firaga blasts (what's interesting too is that, they decided to get rid of his Keyblade when he does this—so why not use his right arm instead if his left arm is injured?), and to physically stop Xemnas attack (which is strong enough to stun Sora) and overpower Xemnas Final Form. I mean, he also used it to lift and spin around Mickey, though I'm sure he weighs like 40 - 50lbs. lol None with any indication of putting strain on an injury, which naturally would happen anyway if you wanted to subtly convey something to the audience.
If I cared about putting details into a game, I'd intentionally want them to be consistent and organic if to be believed, you know? Similarly to if a character had a limp, I don't want to represent it in one single aspect, but then not 10 others where it should be present. An injured body part being used for strenuous things should be reflected in said activity, if also to be signified directly in some other way.
So then, if it just so happened to not be an in-character injury, what other explanation could there be?
Well—all these things can still exist with the idea of drawing attention to that left arm and linking it to a moment where he started his arc in KH2 of giving into Darkness/Ansem form. Just as much as a probable idea, it's kind of more of a symbolic thing built within his design to represent the above, as opposed to an in-game injury that is strained to the point it's represented by him practically having it limp with his thumb in his pocket—though this too is kind of a Riku design thing, as the kid just likes to put his thumbs in his pockets with the KH2 design for some reason lmao XD
If it had THAT much impact, I'd expect it to be details everywhere and to be a little more "Oh that makes sense" in more than just his running animation or how low his arm is when holding his Keyblade.
But, it could also still be a way to showcase his injury, but without also making it seem like he's crippled—you can have a wrist injury and still use it, but it definitely loses it's "I'm injured" importance if you're just using it like normal. I would say that brace sucks though in design, because even the ones I use will typically have it wrap around the crease of the thumb for better stability, but meh. XD
I like both the idea that it's an injury and that it's a connection to that moment with Roxas and his journey to darkness as a symbolic thing—it just doesn't have a big impact on what his character is able to do or what he's experiencing consistently, it just kind of exists as probable causes to design choices.
Reblogged
What do you think about the translation, or adaptation, in general of KH from Japanese to English? As someone who is a Spanish speaker, I realize that even in my language the story is more different when I hear the dialogues in both languages @_@
Now I'm really curious about what the KH Spanish translation is like! What are the similarities and differences that you've noticed? My guess is that the Spanish translation is done based on the English translation, but I'd be interested to hear more about it!
As for the English translation (and keep in mind that I have not played the entire series all the way through in Japanese), I'd say that overall it captures the spirit of the Japanese version as far as I can tell? I mean there are differences in the KH original stuff, like Sora's catchphrase "connecting hearts is my power" becoming "my friends are my power," but I really like both versions of the catchphrase. The Japanese version keeps the focus on hearts as is fitting for a series about hearts, but friendship is such an integral part of the series and the English version captures that really well.
I also really love how Sora's line in Blank Points was translated. The Japanese version is something along the lines of:
Haha Back in the early 2000s, KH was the first time I considered the fact that, the nuances between different languages, including that of how it's spoken and flexibility of written meaning, is what allows them to be enjoyed differently. There's a good chunk of the fanbase that didn't experience the jealousy ENG speakers had of the Final Mixes being JPN exclusive for a very long time lol And it was interesting to have learned that, one of the selling points of the Final Mixes in Japan, was that they included ENG voice acting for JPN gamers to experience and interact with. Some would think, why would they be interested in that?
Well, because from what I've seen, they ENJOY the split hair differences—they're just as much fascinated in interacting with different languages, especially ENG as it's a little more involved in Japan than say Spanish. And it's just fun. I think there are just, perhaps, different cultural acceptances and understanding of localization that hampers the experience for some gamers. Maybe limited knowledge doesn't help either.
It's very natural for there to be nuanced differences between languages, and for the specific application towards a work of fiction, the avenues this can take are a lot more open than I think people are giving credit to.
I largely believe that those who are in the circle of venturing into languages concerning SE games need not worry so much about localization processes and try to use that to wonder whether these differences are intentional or done in good faith. Any significant differences can be thought of as something that was consulted on as opposed to not at all, not to mention, that believe it or not, there are things that we wouldn't even know whether the ENG team was responsible for even FOR the JPN and other language versions! That's how involved the localization division (especially the ENG) can be in the development process. This is common for SE because of how their localization team is setup.
Many people don't know that the localization team IS a part of the development team in Tokyo, and thus, most of the time, the main translators for every language work right there alongside their fellow devs in the Tokyo office. For future reference, the different divisions are SE Co. (JPN) and SE Inc. (USA)—the Spanish division would be included in SE Ltd offices—so the way SE localization works most of the time is that they'll have in-house translators as part of the JPN development team for all the languages, while still having other staff in the global divisions around the world too.
This was true even for the first KH, where they had translators in both the Tokyo location (Amanda Katsurada) and the USA office (Ryosuke Taketomi), all with their own assistants and editors that helped them along the way. This is done for a lot of the KH games (SE games, in general). I think BBS was the only one where the ENG translators were in the USA office only. KH3 was interesting because it had translators as part of the Tokyo dev team as usual, but ALSO had used another Tokyo based localization company (JPEN) to help with the ENG too, which is a company that includes Brian Grey, who worked for SE before forming the JPEN company.
And @phoenix-downer is correct that there's also the nuances formed from the fact Disney is involved, which means there's the considerations and challenges of properties being ENG inherently first. This was present from the beginning even for the first KH, as per what Amanda Katsurada talks about for KH 1:
Haven: On Kingdom Hearts you were involved both in localization and acting as a sort of intermediary between Square and Disney in Japan and abroad. Can you tell us about that experience?
Amanda: I will be honest with you, that project was a challenge up until it came out. Having two strong companies with firm ideas on what they want to achieve trying to produce a product together could get quite complicated. And, this being the first attempt at a collaborative project on this scale, there were some difficulties. I believe Kingdom Hearts was the first Disney project written in Japanese first and later translated into English. The properties are all American, so up to this point everything was done in English, then localized for other languages. So you can imagine how challenging this project was for them, as well as for Square. Nevertheless, the coordinators both on Square and Disney's sides worked closely together to achieve the highest possible quality for the game. As for the localization staff, including myself, fellow translator Ryo Taketomi, and the super editor Jennifer Mukai, we spent much time reworking the translation and debugging text until the very last moment. Let's just say, we all slept for a few days straight after the project was finally completed!
Excusing understanding and deep dives into the meaning of all texts between languages, there are a lot of ways we can just simply enjoy all versions of the game, or simply pick and choose are favorites too without tearing down localization processes or the languages themselves.
As long as things make sense and are fitting, it's usually alright with me—picking which one I like more/don't like more and for what reasons, comes secondary after evaluation of the text and context, you know?