Mai Shiranui
Man, it's too bad this outfit didn't get iterated on. Damn you, KoF!
Fighter title
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| The Kunoichi Burning with Love and Training | The Fabulous Ninja Babe |
English manual scans from Rage Quitter 87. Thank you!
Like Andy and Joe, Mai's English title is just her old Fatal Fury Special title reused. Except this time she's "Fabulous" instead of "Enchanting", which once against suggests the person writing this didn't have immediate access to the English-language FFS materials. So why reuse it...?
Manual blurb
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Oooh, that Andy! I don't know or care about these "secret scrolls" or whatever, but what's he thinking, leaving me alone to run off to who-knows-where? Is this how he treats his future bride? And this was supposed to be our wonderful overseas vacation, just the two of us... Well if it's like this, I'm gonna check in on our "big brother"! | Andy, that jerk. He told me we'd be able to take it easy here in Southtown and spend some time together but he's off searching for some silly scrools. What's a scrool, anyway. And who are the Kings? Is this what life is going to be like with that guy? Well, I don't have time to talk right now. I have to go see Andy for a little advice about this dumb, stupid little brother. |
Nothing here is wrong, and the character voice isn't that terribly off either, despite the clear hand of the editor. I'm kind of amazed.
"[S]crools" is perhaps going a bit far, and it took me a couple reads to get the "Kings" joke, but it rolls neatly into a good translation of "is this how he treats his future bride?".
The one problem is the very obvious issue of switching Terry and Andy's names at the end, making it sound like Mai is going to consult Andy about Andy. Whoops!
Intro vs Bob
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Hey! You're here, Mai? I get it, you came to fight Bob. He's a capoeira genius! | Yes! Full contact with Mai Shiranui! My life is now complete! |
So, obvious problem: in Japanese, the line here is from Richard, like it is for the FF1 boys. Not sure why Mai gets in on this deal...because she's also a returning character? I guess she's supposed to have met Richard at some point in there. Unfortunately, just like the FF1 boys, the editor missed this wrinkle and wrote the line like Bob was delivering it instead. Thus leading to something that in-game sounds like Richard is about to fight Mai, even though he's not.
By the way, did you know that Mai is hot and every guy wants her? English FF3 is going to remind you at every opportunity! This isn't nearly as prevalent in Japanese, as you can see right here.
Win vs Bob
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Just like I thought - capoeira is no good, Richard! | Thanks for showing me about Cooperia. Quite an impressive way of fighting. Not! |
You can tell the editor liked Mai a lot. These are roughly the same in meaning (Mai generically puts down the martial art she just beat) but a generic line that directly addresses Richard in Japanese becomes addressed to Bob and adds a "...not!", as SNK liked to do.
The fact that the addressee of the line changes is interesting to me. Either it's coincidence, or they cared enough to make the pre- and post-fight lines match up even though it doesn't work with the animation. Both look possible from where I'm sitting, but I'm leaning towards "it was on purpose" since both are so heavily touched up by the editor.
Why? Well, that's another question entirely.
Intro vs Franco
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Authorized people only! Or are you looking to fight me? | My fight does not concern you. Leave, or I will be forced to kill. Deal? |
Same as...Terry? Well, why not?
Win vs Franco
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Hey mister, aren't you Franco Bash, the guy they called the "most powerful kickboxer ever"? | Hey, aren't you Franco Bash? The current King of Kick? How about an autograph? |
"King of Kick" is also used on Franco's route, from Geese. The title is handled in a few different ways, which suggests a lack of a localization bible. I've probably handled it a few different ways in this project, which I should probably go back and fix...
One little nuance difference: in Japanese, Mai says that Franco was called (past tense) the most powerful kickboxer. In English, she says he's currently (present tense) the King of Kick. The Japanese matches up with Franco's backstory, the English doesn't. There's also the nuance fbm caught, that in Japanese Franco is not just the strongest currently, he's the strongest ever. This is lost in English.
She also doesn't ask for an autograph in Japanese, but the feeling is there. Please, gamers, love a boxer.
Intro vs Joe
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Huh? Mai, you looking for the secret scrolls too? | Oh, Mai, you, too? I thought the secret scrolls were, well...a secret. |
Jokes.
Both of these hit a similar idea, but the English line is clearly making a joke in a way the Japanese line isn't. Again, Mai got a lot of attention from the editor.
Win vs Joe
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Hold on, what are these secret scrolls? Spit it out, Joe! | What do you mean, secret scrolls? C'mon, Joe, cough it up or I tell Andy! |
Again, very similar, but the English adds in a reference to Andy that's not there in the Japanese.
Intro vs Mary
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You really want to fight me? Geez, these sheltered little rich girls sure are a pain in the butt. | What a sad case. Okey, I guess I'll have to show you my full power, cutey! |
...huh?
I have no idea what happened here. It's not completely out there in the usual way when they just made things up, but it's nothing like the Japanese. It's just...weird.
Of interest is the odd spelling of "okay" here: "okey" is only otherwise used for Yamazaki's line in the Accident fight against Terry/Andy/Joe/Bob. I assumed it was like that in the Yamazaki line to make him sound more like a gangster, but it may have just been a typo.
I can't tell if Mary calling Mai "cutey" is meant to be what they turned "sheltered little rich girl" into or if the editor just had no idea who was talking.
Win vs Mary
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You've got a ways to go before you can beat me. Better study the glamour of an adult woman harder! | You pack quite a punch, sister. I have a lot of learn about my own femininity. |
...huh?: The Sequel.
In Japanese the line is a pretty straightforward put-down plus a comment on Mai's dedication to sex appeal vs Mary's. In English it turns into...I'm not sure. A compliment to Mary's fighting skills which somehow...taught Mai about her own femininity?
I feel like there's a joke here I just don't get. Definitely touched by the editor, though.
Accident Intro
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| It's not a good idea for cuties like you to wander the city...there's a lot of scary guys around.... | A beautiful babe like you shouldn't be alone in a place like this. Too many thugs. |
| Hehehehehehe..... | Heh, heh. It's a good thing that I'm not a thug. Heh, heh. Hah, hah, haaaaaaah! |
Settle down, Yamazaki.
The first line is broadly the same in English and Japanese. The second line is considerably expanded in English, going from a simple creepy chuckle to lots more laughter and some false reassurances. Interesting. But explainable, which is better than the previous!
Accident Postfight
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Yamazaki: You're pretty good... Heheh... I'll put my pleasure off until later. Hehe... | Yamazaki: Heh, heh, heh. Not bad for a bodacious broad. Later, babe! |
| Mai: H-hold on a sec! Wait! | Mai: Hey, get your male chauvinist backside back here! |
| Mai: What's up with that guy?! Got a real creepy vibe... Well anyway, where did Andy get off to? | Mai: Just who does he think he is? Hey, where did Andy go? |
Yamazaki's line had to get edited down, but it's there in spirit. The main thing it's missing is Yamazaki explicitly threatening that he's looking forward to meeting Mai again later. I don't think "Later, babe!" has quite the same effect. "Bodacious broad" is also added in English, and fits in with the flavor of SNK translations.
According to Google use of "bodacious" peaked in 2011 so SNK was really ahead of the curve here.
Mai's first line is very much expanded. Having her call Yamazaki a "male chauvinist" feels like it's trying to add a bit of girl power to the line.
Her second line is edited down, though they could've gotten a bit more in there. It mostly just drops the second sentence for whatever reason. The rest is pretty straight.
Intro vs Mai
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| I finally got a new outfit and you still ripped it off? You're not getting away with this. | Oh No! You've copied my new costume too! |
English is considerably edited down, but the gist is there. It is missing the threat at the end, though, and there's a slight bit of nuance lost in that Mai's costume change is supposed to be special in Japanese, but it's just a "new costume" in English.
Win vs Mai
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Give it up already! | Oh, take a rest, slimy! |
Sensing a lack of context here.
Which is interesting, because other lines (like the one against Mary, or against Bob) show they had some context. How much? Who knows.
Or who knows, maybe this was on purpose after all. It's not exactly out of character for the editor, after all...
Intro vs Andy
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| H-h-huh? M-Mai! What are you doing here? | W...What?! Mai, what in the name of the Great Ice Cream Salesman are you doing here? |
...
Sometimes you want to spice up a line, but you don't want to completely rewrite it, but you also don't want people to think you didn't touch it.
That said, Great Ice Cream Salesmen aside, this is pretty straight. Andy's just asking Mai what she's doing there in both languages.
Andy's thing for ice cream goes back to Special. Even Geese got in on it.
Win vs Andy
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| It's not about what I'm doing. I heard about it from Joe, but do I miss my mark in assuming you're wrapped up in this secret scrolls business too? | C'mon, Andy. Joe told me about the scrolls. What's your involvement in this? |
Okay, so my version could probably be cut down.
Mai deflecting Andy's question from before the fight is dropped in English, probably for space concerns. I feel there's also a bit of a nuance difference in how Mai asks about Andy's involvement in Japanese vs English, where in Japanese she's just guessing Andy's involved somehow, but in English she already seems to know (implied she learned from Joe?). That might just be me, though.
Intro vs Hon Fu
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| I heard from Cheng to watch out fer some "Nippon Ichi!" chick...zat you? | Cheng told me to watch out for you. As a matter of fact, I could watch you forever. Hmmm. |
I'm assuming everyone knows to associate Mai with "Nippon Ichi!" by now, right? It's her most famous victory soundbite. In case you don't know, it means "best in Japan!"
Some details are lost in the official translation, replaced with another guy hitting on Mai. Dropping the "Nippon Ichi" makes sense - American audiences didn't understand what Mai was saying enough to pick up on the reference, and translating it would also be meaningless...except that they added it to a win quote so what the hell, SNK.
The official translation also drops that Hon Fu isn't entirely sure he's talking to the right woman for less obvious reasons. Gotta fit the joke in there somehow, I guess.
Win vs Hon Fu
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Why do you need to "watch out" for me? If you know Cheng then tell him to stop spreading weird rumours! | I don't know what Cheng told you about me, but tell him to keep his filthy mouth shut! |
This is pretty straight! It's a bit punched up, and Mai asking why Cheng warned Hon Fu is cut, but the rest is there just fine and it sounds good. Nice job all around.
Intro vs Sokaku
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| H-how can this be? The successor to the Shiranui name is this little girl... How pitiable... | So the last Shiranui is a girl. I'm not that unlucky after all. Yeeees! |
Hey guys, did you know Mai is hot? All the guys want her.
There's also a minor nuance difference - in English Mai is said to be the last Shiranui, but no such qualification is made in Japanese. She's just the successor, and we don't know how many other Shiranui there are out there.
The rest is just completely rewritten.
Win vs Sokaku
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Mochizuki? Now that you mention it, I think I heard my grandfather mention them once or twice...? | Mochizuki, huh? My grandfather would whine about you guys all the time. Not so tough, huh. |
Well, that's different.
It's closer than the previous, but with more nuance differences. Mai is clearly punched up a bit in English, which has the side effect of changing some of the context of the line. The Mochizuki go from something Mai vaguely recalls hearing about to something she's heard a lot about, and Hanzo goes from mentioning them to whining about them all the time. There's also a bit of a dig added to the English version there at the end, presumably as part of the punching up.
I also think it's interesting from a story perspective that Sokaku really, really cares about the Shiranui, while the two Shiranui representatives have barely ever heard of the Mochizuki. Fucking ouch.
Intro vs Terry
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| W-what are you so mad about? I haven't been teasing Andy or anything! Honest! | What are you upset about? I haven't teased Andy. Well, not recently, that is. |
This is...very straight. Terry's got a bit of a punch-up in English that makes it sound like he's teased Andy in the past, but I think we all know in our hearts he'd do that anyway. The biggest difference is in tone - Japanese Terry is more placating, while English Terry is more confident.
Win vs Terry
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You were the one that dragged Andy into all this secret scrolls nonsense, weren't you, Terry? | So you must be the guy who blabbed to Andy about the scrolls. Bigmouth! |
It's pretty straight, despite the obvious hand of the editor. Terry got off pretty lightly, all things considered.
Having Mai say that Terry blabbed to Andy about the scrolls makes it sound like she and Terry knew about it and then Terry dragged Andy in, instead of Mai finding out later and accusing Terry of dragging Andy in. Or is that me? It's about the only real difference.
Intro vs Geese
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Even if you are a woman, I won't show mercy to anyone who gets in my way! | Even if you are a woman-- and a fine specimen at that-- I can't forgive my enemies! |
Pretty straight, but did you know Mai is hot? All the guys want her.
I feel like there's a bit of a connotation difference between "anyone who gets in my way" vs "my enemies", as the latter sounds more personal, but it's an understandable localization choice.
Win vs Geese
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You're Geese Howard? But you're alive. Andy lied... | You're Geese Howard?! Andy said you bit the big one and here you are...whoops, were. |
So this is mostly the same, but loses Mai calling Andy a liar and replaces it with a joke about how she just murdered Geese. In general the difference is in tone. The line in Japanese is phased kind of...cute, which is completely dropped in English.
Intro vs Yamazaki
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Tch, so you really wanted to meet some scary people, huh? Guess it's the end of that pretty face...too bad. | Too bad such a beautiful babe like you has chosen such a line of work as this. |
...huh?
The Japanese is clearly playing off what Yamazaki said in the accident intro: that there are "a lot of scary guys" around. The English fails to do this and instead starts talking about Mai's line of work...when this isn't Mai's job at all. It feels like it's a line for Mary, but it's not. Very odd.
It got rewritten but in a way that's not obviously a joke. Weird.
Ending A
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Ya...ya got me... But yer Shiranui style's jes like a baby against him... Give it up... | Beaten by a Shiranui. Oh, the humiliation. And to top it all off, a girl Shiranui! |
Kishi got the pics. Thank you.
Since only the first line of the ending is unique, I put the other parts over here.
I spent a while trying to figure out how I wanted to write this line. Still not happy with it. Point is, the Shiranui style is just the baby school.
Yamazaki being upset about beaten by a Shiranui more than any other style is added to the English. Meanwhile, the gameplay hint is dropped, as usual.
Win vs Yamazaki
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Mai: Now, hand over those dangerous scrolls I've been hearing about. You have them, right? | Mai: Okay, pal. Hand over the scrolls. I know you have them in your slimy clutches. |
| Yamazaki: S-shit... | Yamazaki: Sorry, hon. If you want them, you'll have to hope on over to Delta Park. Good luck, toots. |
| Chonshu: Mai Shiranui... Be a good girl and come along quietly now.... | Chonshu: Mai Shiranui....Why not just kick back and let's make ourselves comfortable! |
| Mai: Huh? Huh? What? | Mai: What in...? Hey! |
| Mai: Huh? Huuuuuuh??? | Mai: What is going on here? |
The English loses that Mai's just been hearing the scrolls are dangerous, which drops why she's bothering with this at all. It does add her saying that Yamazaki's clutches are slimy, which is pretty SNK.
Yamazaki is still bizarrely helpful. He even wishes Mai good luck. I have no idea what made them consistently make this choice for Yamazaki.
Chonshu hits on Mai in English because of course he does.
Mai's "Huh? Huh?" routine is pretty cutesy in Japanese, so it's translated to be a bit more aggressive in English to go along with generally making Mai less cutesy.
Intro vs Chonshu
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Huh, so you're a woman and you still beat Yamazaki...that's no small thing. But I should expect no less from the Shiranui successor. | Wow, you're sure took care of Yamazaki. A true successor to the House of Shiranui! |
| But still, that Shiranui history is only 400 years old. Compared to my family's, it's just a baby. | However, your puny 400 year history comes to and end in a moment. |
| My name is Jin Chonshu. My ancestor's soul from 2200 years ago dwells within me. | The strength and blood of 2200 years strengthens my body and energizes my limbs! |
| Once I have all three scrolls in my possession, I will be able to resurrect myself into a perfect, immortal body. | After I find the three secret scrolls, the Jin line will become immortal! |
| But before I can do that, all interfering elements must be dealt with. So then, are you prepared? | All of my enemies shall feel my wrath. The world will quake in the shadow of my power! |
Well, we got the usual raft of dropped or mistranslated plot points in Chonshu's speech. This is a surprisingly plot-relevant speech, though. Interesting.
The first line loses the whole "a woman beat Yamazaki" thing and just compliments Mai for taking him out. It does retain Chonshu saying it's only to be expected from the Shiranui successor, that's neat.
And he still looks down on the Shiranui for not having enough history in the next line, though they do drop him directly saying the Shiranui history is like a baby next to the Jins, which is too bad. It's a really funny line. The English also adds a direct threat that isn't there in Japanese. (and a typo, but who's counting)
Chonshu doesn't introduce himself at all during the speech in English, but the big difference here is what's going on with the souls. In Japanese, he says straight out that his ancestor's soul is living inside of him. It doesn't sound to me like the ancestor is the one talking (though I got the impression in other routes), but the soul is there. Meanwhile in English it's just a generic brag about the history of 2200 years - no mention of an ancestor's soul at all!
There's a minor difference in the fourth line between Chonshu saying he'll make himself (and his ancestor?) immortal with the perfect body. The phrasing is just like how people talk about what Geese is trying to do on his route. Meanwhile in English he just says that the Jin line will become immortal, nothing about him specifically.
...and the last line is just completely rewritten. It goes from threats focusing on Mai herself to some generic villain talk about all his enemies and the world, nothing about Mai. It's like the editor forgot which route he was editing for.
Chonrei
Chonrei's intro is the same for everyone, so it's on a common page.
Ending B
Ending B is also the same for all characters, so it's on a common page too.
Ending C
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| The hero's blood flowing through the Jin family mutated into evil ambition over the course of ages and possessed the brothers' bodies. | The blood of the Jins is the blood of death. It could only, in the end, conclude this way. |
| January 1st, 1995 Mai Shiranui defeats the Jin brothers, returning this town to days of peace. |
Jan 1, 1995 Mai Shiranui rids the world of all its evil Jins. |
| The perfect, immortal body that the Jin family believed in was nothing more than a figment of their 2200-year history. | The delusions of the Jins were just that. Immortality...the last refuse of corruption! |
Kishi did the first and second lines, as usual.
The only interesting thing about this is that the second line doesn't have an exclamation mark at the end, showing that it was individual and not just a copy-paste of Terry's line.
The rest is just like Terry's route so head on over to the Misc page for analysis.
Mai's Ending
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Right, let's head back to Japan. No more running off on your own, got it? Answer me, Andy! | Andy, I won so you have to come back to Japan with me. Andy? Andy! You promised, weasel! |
Man, no wonder Andy doesn't want to make it official.
There're some minor differences in English vs Japanese. Mai doesn't mention that she won in Japanese, so it's not a reason for Andy to accompany her - the English makes it sound like him coming home with her was a condition of their match - a kind of "if I win, you have to come back with me" thing. On the other hand, the English drops her saying that he's not allowed to run off on his own anymore. A mixed bag.