welcome to the family, toaster-chan
IDK if I’ve mentioned this before, but since there’s talk of how to approach an accurate/nuanced translation of the word “baka” in anime on my dash, I thought I’d share one of my other favorite bits of oft-overlooked translating-Japanese nuance and how it applies to Sailor Moon.
Basically every Sailor Moon fan knows Sailor Moon’s catchphrase, “tuski ni kawatte oshiokyo!” which translates more or less into “In the name of the moon, I’ll punish you!”
The fun part, that I learned a few years back from my half-Japanese friend who has, since high school, lived full time in Japan, is the “oshiokyo” bit.
Oshiokyo does, in a literal sense, mean “I’ll punish you”. It’s a perfectly fine translation. But what it doesn’t get across is that the main people who use the phrase are parents, especially mothers, and it’s primarily used against children.
There’s not a perfect English equivalent, but it carries a similar tone to “someone’s getting a spanking!” or “you’re going into time out!” or “you’re in big trouble, missy!”
Basically, it’s not particularly threatening, and anyone who would think it was would be pretty childish. The fact that Usagi uses it as a legitimate threat is adorable in how much is reveals her age. It’s also badass and kind of condescending in that she’s basically treating the villains as unruly children instead of legitimate threats.
So there you go. Take this information and put new joy into one of the most well-trod parts of the Sailor Moon universe.
