Comparing TCB Scans' Translation of One Piece Chapter 1103 to the Original Japanese Text

Comparing TCB Scans' Translation of One Piece Chapter 1103 to the Original Japanese Text


TL;DR:
a) This is not a replacement for TCB! They are the front-runner for OP scanlations in the English speaking world, continue supporting them! And continue supporting Official releases!
b) Comments are on: 0, 2c, 2e, 3, 7c, 8f, 9a.
c) Any errors will be corrected & updated on the pastebin.
d) Your patience (and mercy) is highly appreciated. Happy Holidays!


DISCLAIMER: Translation cannot exist without localisation, and that's what TCB provides on top of the fastest HQ scans & English translation--my intent is not to discredit the work of TCB Scans. I simply want to provide a more "transparent" understanding of the content as intended by and as provided by Oda Eiichirō, such that words/statements/dialogue/narration/etc. can then be interpreted based on the original Japanese text, i.e. more accurate direct translation but minus the localisation (this is why when you read TCB's scanlations, the flow seems smoother and more natural due to localisation; and when you read my meanings, they sound more choppy due to simply chaining together direct translations). I will go over differences which, in my opinion, have some important apparent and/or potential context lost in translation and I will comment some explanation; the comparisons without explanation comments are just for fun; there are of course other translation inaccuracies in the chapter as well, but they do not change the intended conveyed context or information, hence, I won't be including their comparisons; lastly, of course there are lots of parts translated accurately, as well. While the official English release also has its imperfections, Stephen Paul's work is consistently reliable and we can always count on them for precise spellings of the names of characters, places, and things. Bottom line is that, yes, this is nitpicking, yes, this is pedantic, but at the same time, I feel you all deserve to fully understand parts which are potentially lost in translation. I will provide, but ultimately you have the freedom to read or not to read. Enjoy.



0. Cover Pages:

0a. Coloured coverspread line 1:
- Original:【☆未来島（みらいじま）編超クライマックス！！新春ＳＰ（スペシャル）巻頭カラー】
- Meaning: "Future Island arc's super climax!! New Years' Special coloured cover page"
- Comment: usually the reading for「未来島」(means future island) is given as （エッグヘッド） "Egghead" (e.g. as seen in chapter 1100 p.1), but this time, the reading is provided as（みらいじま）"Miraijima" and is indeed according to the kanji. This inconsistency is most likely from WSJ's part.

0b. Coloured coverspread line 2:
- Original:【☆アニメ「ＭＯＮＳＴＥＲＳ 一百三情飛龍侍極」は２０２４年１月に全世界配信開始！！】
- Meaning: "The anime "MONSTERS: 103 Dragon Damnation" is set for worldwide broadcast in January 2024!!"
- Comment: Oda had a oneshot from 1994 (the title itself is ridiculed with wordplay, we'll not get into that) which has been adapted into an ONA (Original Net Animation) and is going to be available on Netflix in January 2024.



1. Page 1:

1a. Opening commentary:
- TCB Scans: BONNEY FINALLY KNOWS
- Original:【真実を知ったボニーは！？】
- Meaning: "[What will] Bonney, who knows the truth, [do next]!?"

1b. Bonney Sobbing last panel:
- TCB SCANS: I'M SORRY, VEGAPUNK.
- Original:【ごべんベガパンク】(Bonney is sobbing and she slurs the "I'm sorry" part)



2. Page 2:

2a. Bonney top left panel:
- TCB Scans: FROM DAD?! THAT'S GREAT!!
- Original:【お父さんから！？嬉しい！！】
- Meaning: "From dad!? [I'm] Happy!!" (Bonney uses child speech here, as opposed to her usual rambunctious speech. a better translation choice would be "YAY!!")

2b. Bonney holding up necklace:
- TCB Scans: A SAPPHIRE NECKLACE!! HOW PRETTY!! IT LOOKS LIKE THE SUN!! I'LL TREASURE IT FOREVER!!
- Original:【きれい！！サファイアだ．．．．．．！！太陽のネックレス！！大切にする！！】
- Meaning: "Pretty!! It's Sapphire......!! A Sun necklace!! I'll cherish it!!"

2c. Vegapunk talking about Luffy:
- TCB Scans: HONESTLY THOUGH... IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE WHAT THAT KID HAS BECOME AFTER ONLY 2 YEARS...!!
- Original:【確かにのう．．．あの小僧があんな姿になるなんて２年前一体誰が想像した．．．！！】
- Meaning: "Certainly enough... Who would have, two years ago, imagined that that kid would become such a figure...!!"
- Comment: TCB is not wrong in translating the way they did. Oda chose the words「あんな姿になる」"anna sugata ni naru" (to turn into/to take on such a form) in order to convey: what TCB already translated (Luffy's progress), Luffy's Gear 5th form, and possibly Luffy's Yonkō status.

2d. Bonney's reply:
- TCB Scans: STRAW HAT... SO HE'S THE SON OF DAD'S OLD BUDDY, RIGHT...?!
- Original:【“麦わら”．．．．．．お父さんの親友の子だったんだな．．．】
- Meaning: ""Strawhat"...... so he was the child of dad's close friend..."

2e. Vegapunk last dialogue of the page:
- TCB Scans: INDEED... I WAS STUNNED WHEN YOU BOTH SHOWED UP TOGETHER. FATE IS A STRANGE THING.
- Original:【うむ．．．お前達が一緒にここへ来て驚いた縁とは実に奇なるもの】
- Meaning: "Yeah... I was stunned when you both showed up together. Fate is indeed a strange thing."
- Comment: Vegapunk, being the scientist he is, says「奇なる」（きなる "kinaru"）which does mean "strange" but mostly used within the context of describing phenomena (i.e. strange/odd/peculiar phenomenon); the word can also be used to describe a person as eccentric. The word "fate"「縁」（えん "en"）used here is the same one used by Oda last week to describe the bond between Kuma & Dragon (click on https://pastebin.com/pYtDTVdk and go to 3b)



3. Page 3:

Vegapunk's dialogue to Bonney middle right panel:
- TCB Scans: I'M SORRY FOR EVERYTHING, BONNEY. NOW YOU KNOW HOW WORTHLESS I AM. A MERE SCIENTIST FOR HIRE, FOLLOWING HIS ORDERS...
- Original:【すまんなボニー私がしがない雇われの科学者で】
- Meaning: "Sorry, Bonney. Because I'm just a worthless hired scientist"
- Comment: the nuance Oda is trying to convey is somewhere along the lines of: it's because I'm a worthless hired scientist that things turned out the way they did.



4-5. Pages 4 & 5:

4a. Wrinkled post-Gear 5th Luffy:
- TCB Scans: FOOD... SOMEONE GIMME FOOD...
- Original:【メシ～誰か頼むメヒィ～】(Luffy slurs the 2nd "food")

4b. Marines securing Sentōmaru:
- TCB Scans: VEGAPUNK'S BODYGUARD IS IN CUSTODY... I REPEAT, WE'VE GOT SENTOMARU!!
- Original:【ベガパンクのＢＧ（ボディガード）戦桃丸確保！！】
- Meaning: "We have secured Vegapunk's bodyguard, Sentōmaru!!"

5c. Marines on the dendenmushi:
- TCB Scans: ANY WORD ON THE STATUS OF THINGS UP THERE?
- Original:【状況は？】
- Meaning: "What's the situation?"

5d. Civilians reading the news:
- TCB Scans: A SIEGE INVOLVING AN EMPEROR...?! IT'LL BE A MIRACLE IF THERE'RE NO CASUALTIES. THE SCALE IS BIGGER THAN THE OHARA INCIDENT! PLEASE BE SAFE, DR. VEGAPUNK!!
- Original:【「四皇」になりたてで“立てこもり”とは．．．！！】【誰も死なねェは無理かもな】【ここまでの包囲網は「オハラ」以上だとよ！！大丈夫か！？Dr.ベガパンク】
- Meaning: "A siege involving a newly crowned "Yonkō"...!?" "It'd be impossible to avoid any casualties." "The scale of this siege is even greater than "Ohara" Is he's alright!? [that] Dr. Vegapunk"

5e. Dragon:
- TCB Scans: ASSUMING THERE'S STILL A TRACE OF KUMA IN THERE... WHERE WOULD HIS INSTINCTS TAKE HIM, IVA?
- Original:【ーーもしくまが“本能の欠片”で動き出したんだとしたらあいつはどこへ行くと思う？イワ】
- Meaning: "ーーAssuming that Kuma's moving according to "fragments of his instinct," where do you think he'd go, Iva?"

5f. Iva-chan's reply:
- TCB Scans: IF IT VAAS ME, I VOULD STORM MARY GEOISE FOR SOME PAYBACK!! BUT AS VE KNOW... KUMA IS DIFFERENT.
- Orginal:【ヴァターシなら迷わずマリージョアへつっ込むけど！！くまは違うわやっぱり．．．ーー】
- Meaning: "If it vere me, I vould charge straight into Mary Geoise vithout hesitation, BUT!! Not Kuma; surely, he vould...ーー"



6. Page 6:

nothing to comment on.



7. Page 7:

7a. Bonney being constricted by St. Saturn: She lets out a little grunt "ugh...!!!" instead of screaming in pain AAAH!!

7b. St. Saturn to Bonney:
- TCB Scans: SO, YOU TOO KNOW THAT NAME... YOU REALLY ARE HIS DAUGHTER. THAT BEING SAID... YOU DON'T FULLY UNDER- STAND ITS MEANING.
- Original:【成程．．．奴の娘だその名を知ってるのか．．．ーだが．．．それが何かを知らない．．．】
- Meaning: "I see... You're his daughter, so you know OF that name... ーHowever... You know nothing about it..."

7c. St. Saturn's thought bubble:
- TCB Scans: IT SEEMS SHE HASN'T DRAWN THE CONNECTION... ...BETWEEN NIKA AND STRAW HAT'S NEW WHITE FORM...
- Original:【こいつの中でまだ“ニカ”と“麦わら”の白い姿は繋がってない様だ】
- Meaning: "It seems like the connection between "Nika" and "Strawhat"'s white form has not yet been established in her."
- Comment: Oda does say "inside of her"「こいつの中」which is odd to say the least. Wouldn't read too much into it just yet.

7d. St. Saturn next line:
- TCB Scans: HOW PATHETIC...
- Original:【実に惜しいな．．．．．．！！】
- Meaning: "How unfortunate......!!"

7e. St. Saturn's reaction to Luffy eating:
- TCB Scans: WHERE DID THAT FOOD COME FROM?! WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?! PUT HIM IN SEASTONE CUFFS IMMEDIATELY!!
- Original:【おい誰だそいつに食糧を与えたのは！！】
- Meaning: "Oi, who is it that bestowed him food!! Cuff him in Seastone immediately!!!"



8. Page 8:

8a. Marines top right panel:
- TCB Scans: GET HIM!
- Original:【捕まえろすぐに！！】
- Meaning: "Seize him immediately!"

8b. Bonney thought bubble top left panel:
- TCB Scans: WHAT'S WITH THIS GEEZER?! I CAN'T EVEN CHANGE HIS AGE!!
- Original:【このジジイ年齢操作通じねェ！！何でだ！？】
- Meaning: "Even the age manipulation can't get through to this old man!! Why!?"

8c. St. Saturn top left panel:
- TCB Scans: BONNEY, YOU OWE THAT POWER OF YOURS TO ME. WE CONDUCTED EXPERIMENTS TO DETERMINE WHETHER EXTRACT INFUSIONS COULD GRANT A BABY AN ABILITY WITHOUT FEEDING THEM THE FRUIT NORMALLY.
- Original:【ボニーその能力は私が与えたんだ】【直接“実”を食えぬ赤子に“エキス”で能力を与えられるかの“実験”だった】
- Meaning: "Bonney, I was the one who bestowed that power. It was an "experiment" to see whether babies who couldn't consume the "fruit" directly could be granted abilities through "extracts."" (u/Illustrious_Cow_9593 correctly notified me the missing potential form in "to eat")

8d. St. Saturn middle left panel:
- TCB Scans: ITS ABILITY CAN TRANSFORM YOU INTO A STATE THAT MATCHES ANY FUTURE PERCEIVED TO BE POSSIBLE, BUT THAT MEANS THE POSSIBILITIES BECOME LIMITED AS YOUR FUTURE BECOMES MORE CERTAIN. AS YOU UNCOVER... THE TRUTH.
- Original:【その能力はいかなる未来にも変身できるが】【現実を知る度に選べる未来が狭くなっていく能力】
- Meaning: "That ability is an ability which lets you transform into a version of you from any conceivable future, but narrows the futures you can choose as you get to know more of reality."

8e. St. Saturn's speech bubble above the incoming Kuma:
- TCB Scans: NIKA IS JUST AN IMPOSSIBLE MYTH YOU WANTED TO BELIEVE IN.
- Original:【「ニカ」を信じたいんだな．．．】
- Meaning: "You just wanted to believe in "Nika" so it seems..."

8f. Bonney's reply:
- TCB Scans: NIKA'S REAL! I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR HIM TO SAVE DAD... ...EVER SINCE YOU TURNED HIM INTO YOUR CYBORG SLAVE!!
- Original:【「ニカ」がいる！！父がお前らに従う機械（サイボーグ）になった日からお父さんを解放して貰いたくてずっと探し続けてる！！】
- Meaning: ""Nika" is real!! Since the day you guys turned my father into an obedient machine (cyborg), I've been continuously searching, hoping to have him set daddy free!!"
- Comment: kanji used by Oda is「機械」which means machine/mechanism but given the reading as "cyborg." Also, the kanji Oda uses for "to search" is specifically「探す」this time instead of「捜す」to symbolise that Nika indeed isn't a figure lost to legend.

8g. The rest of St. Saturn's dialogue of the page:
- TCB Scans: YET YOUR SUDDEN WEAKENING PROVES YOU ARE STARTING TO DOUBT WHETHER HIS EXISTENCE IS POSSIBLE. YOUR FATHER JUST PASSED ON A WORTHLESS BUCCANEER LEGEND. HE ONCE TOLD ME HE WANTED TO SAVE PEOPLE JUST LIKE NIKA.
- Original:【もういないと思い始めている証拠が今の弱さ．．．】【バッカニア族のくだらん伝説を信じお前の父も私にこう言った．．．！！「ニカの様に人々を救いたい」】
- Meaning: "Your being weak is proof that you're starting to think that he already doesn't exist... Your father who believes in that worthless Buccaneer legend once said to me...!! "I want to save people just like Nika."" (u/rand0_0mdude thank you)



9. Page 9:

9a. St. Saturn continues:
- TCB Scans: YOUR MOTHER BEING BROUGHT TO THE HOLY LAND TO BE WIFE NUMBER 8 IS IRONIC REALLY. SHE ENDED UP BEING PART OF MY DRUG EXPERIMENTS. LIKE THE OTHER FAILURES, SHE DEVELOPED SAPPHIRE SCALE. I KNEW THE RESULTS WERE POOR... BUT TO THINK THE CONDITION PASSED ON TO HER CHILD AS WELL...
- Original:【後に聖地の者の第８夫人となったお前の母に“薬物実験”をしたのも私だ．．．】【また副作用の青いアザが出て失敗．．．】【なかなかうまくいかぬが生まれた子にも遺伝するとはな】
- Meaning: "Subsequently, that mother of yours who became one of the Holy Land's resident's 8th wife; I was also the one who performed "drugging experiments" on her... yet another failure since blue bruises emerged as side effects... It didn't go well, but to think her child would inherit it"
- Comment: probably what you came here for, it was some unnamed (for now) resident of Mary Geoise and not Saturn himself. And Saturn did say blue bruises. <edit_1> chapter 1098 raws say「天竜人」(Celestial Dragon) &「天竜人の“妻”」(Wife of Celestial Dragon), although its a RA character's hearsay. In this chapter, based on the way St. Saturn addresses the person in question as 'a person of the holy land'「聖地の者」, I would still say CD. Imu, the highly secretive God-like figure who tops the world hierarchy, wouldn't be addressed as「者」"person" by St. Saturn. In my opinion, I don't believe anybody, let alone a regular human, former slave even, like Ginny would even catch the eyes of Imu, the supposed ruler of the OP world. But let's say that's true, then having her returned to the lower world without being executed is even more unlikely. But let's say that's possible, would St. Saturn dare experiment on his king's 8th wife? The word「夫人」, in the regular & usual sense, is used to refer to another person's wife in an honourific manner. It can also archaically mean "a nobleman's wife" (which is also befitting because CDs are the noblemen). However, it cannot specifically mean "consort/Wife of Emperor" because Oda provides the specific reading for the word as (ふじん "fujin"). In order for the word to specifically mean "consort/Emperor's Wife," the reading has to be (ぶにん "bunin"). </edit_1>

9b. Vegapunk:
- TCB Scans: EXPERIMENTS?! HOW DARE YOU, SATURN?! THOSE SAPPHIRE SCALES TORE KUMA'S FAMILY APART!! THEY'RE THE REASON HE THREW HIS LIFE AWAY!! YOU USED IT AS A BARGAINING CHIP WHEN YOU WERE THE ONE RESPONSIBLE?!
- Original:【あんたの実験！？サターン！！！くまの家族は．．．！！“青玉鱗”に翻弄されたんじゃぞ！！！くまはその為に命を差し出したんじゃ！！！よくも“取り引き”など恩着せがましく！！！】
- Meaning: "Your experiments!? SATURN!!! Kuma's family...!! Was at the mercy of those "Sapphire Scales"!!! For that reason, Kuma gave up his life!!! How dare you act as if giving him that "deal" was doing him a favour!!!"



10. Page 10:

10a. St. Saturn top panel:
- TCB Scans: LOOK AT IT FROM MY PERSPECTIVE. DO YOU COMPREHEND THE FEELINGS OF THE INSECTS YOU STEP ON? OF COURSE NOT.
- Original:【おい．．．私の身にもなってみろ“虫ケラ”の気持ちを理解しろと言うのか？不可能だ．．．．．．】
- Meaning: "Oi, look at it from my perspective. Are you telling me to comprehend the feelings of "Insects?" Impossible......"

10b. Marine reporting Kuma's arrival:
- TCB Scans: THIS IS AN URGENT REPORT FROM THE SOUTHWEST COAST!! THE EX-WARLORD OF THE SEA, BARTHOLOMEW KUMA, HAS MADE LANDFALL!!
- Original:【「エッグヘッド」南西の海岸に！！元“王下七武海”バーソロミュー・くまが現れました！！】
- Meaning: "Former "Seven Warlord of the Sea" Bartholomew Kuma has appeared on Egghead's Southwestern coast!!"



11. Page 11:

11a. St. Saturn top right panel:
- TCB Scans: WHAT A FIASCO... HOW COULD KUMA POSSIBLY BE HERE?!
- Original:【何をバカ騒ぎを．．．．．．！！くまが来る筈がない．．．】
- Meaning: "What nonsense are they on about......!! Kuma couldn't possibly have come here..."

11b. Vegapunk top middle panel bottom:
- TCB Scans: HE'S HERE? HOW?!
- Original:【くまが？なぜ！？】
- Meaning: "Kuma's here? Why!?"

11c. Top left panel first bubble:
- TCB Scans: STOP HIM!! FIRE AT WILL!!
- Original:【止めろ撃って構わん】
- Meaning: "Stop him, You can open fire at him." (This is Saturn commanding the Marines)



12. Page 12:

12a. Bonney's internal monologue middle panel:
- TCB Scans: I THINK I'D BE BETTER- OFF DEAD... THIS IS IT.
- Original:【このまま死んだ方が．．．楽かもしれない．．．．．．．．．】
- Meaning: "I think it'd be easier......... and better if I were to die just like this..."

12b. St. Saturn last panel:
- TCB Scans:
- Original:【あァ．．．うるさくてかなわんクソガキめが．．．．．．】
- Meaning: "Ah... So noisy I can't stand it, this shitty brat......"



13. Page 13:

13a. Bonney constricted by St. Saturn: Again, she's letting out a tiny "ugh...!!" instead of full on screaming AAH.

13b. Bonney's internal monologue bottom panels
- TCB Scans: I'M SO SORRY, DADDY... YOU FOUGHT REALLY HARD FOR ME TO LIVE, BUT...
- Original:【ごめんねお父さん】【せっかく貰った命．．．】
- Meaning: "I'm sorry, daddy. The life I gained through your hardships..."



14-15. Pages 14 & 15:

Closing commentary:
- TCB Scans: A FATHER'S FURY!!
- Original:【怒りを放て！！】
- Meaning: Firing his anger!! (The word can also mean to shoot/to release)



<end>



Hope this helped clarify a few things and made anyone who read all of this have a better understanding of the original Japanese text release! Thanks for reading.