Zant was an interesting read, and a lot of his language and way of speaking was pretty straight-forward. There were a couple things I wanted to point out though.

First is his way of addressing our protagonist. He doesn’t use her name at all, unless you read the Moon Route, and then it only happens once. This is HIGHLY unusual for Japanese. While it’s normal in English, in Japan it is considered impolite to address someone by their equivalent of ‘you’ (and of course there are so many ways to say this) rather than a name. Zant takes it even further by using the term アンタ (anta), which is a less polite version of あなた (anata). Having it written in kanji further emphasizes this. As a disclaimer, if you’re studying Japanese, NEVER use anta to address someone as you’ll come across as rude.

Second, I wanted to mention a part in the end of the Sun Route (go read it first so you don’t get any spoilers!) I’ll post the entirety of the Japanese here so you can see what I’m going to be talking about: 「大地の精霊よ・・・・・・このテラマートルに根ざす大いなる力よ・・・・・・一族の主たる我の願いを聞き届けたまえ・・・・・・耳を傾けたまえ・・・・・・どうかこの地に今一度、精霊のご加護を・・・-」We see a couple grammar things I wanted to draw attention to here. First is the use of よ (yo) at the end of the sentences. I may have talked about this before, but usually this particle is used for emphasis. In this case however, it signifies that Zant is offering up a prayer/command. The same is true of the other ending we see, たまえ (tamae). This grammar ending indicates that the phrasing is an order, or a command. You’ll hear/see both of these grammar forms a lot when characters are casting spells or beseeching some ethereal entity for help, like in Shakugan no ShanaApollo uses it too when he summons his flames.

Finally, one line I had trouble with is in Chapter 5: 「……俺が関わるとろくなことにならないんだ。アンタも」I’ve translated it as “…you’re just asking for trouble if you concern yourself with me.” but I’m not completely sure that’s the most accurate. The ろくなこと is what threw me off, and I’m not sure if I’m missing something obvious, or if it’s a grammar form I haven’t come across. If anyone has a better translation for this line, please let me know! 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *