I'm Aaron! I combine my enthusiasm for language and The Legend of Zelda by producing videos on this channel!
We look at the original Japanese text of the Zelda games and explore details and subtle nuances that elude seamless transfer between languages.
The purpose of these videos is to provide an interpretation of those details.
Translating words and phrases from one language to another is extremely complex and it's not always the case that there will be a perfect one-to-one translation available. This is the case with Nintendo's translations, my own translations, and any other interpretations from anyone else.
That's why the Zelda games have been one of my biggest sources of motivation for learning Japanese. The true essence of the text is best understood from your own direct interpretation of the original language! If you're interested in my content, connect with me on my website, too!
This channel is refreshing because a lot of other Zelda content is speculation based on previous games and searching for connections to them. It’s nice to hear the cultural inspiration of these games, especially since it’s always more plausible that Nintendo would always look to do something new rather than draw connections to the old.
Demise is permanently dead according to the japanese version of Skyward Sword with Ganondorf and the many other villains in the Zelda universe been their own characters who only embody the same evil he once did in the past. Aaron has just recently released a video which addresses what actually happens at the end of Skyward Sword and how it applies to the rest of the timeline.
Bruh I'm not subbed this is the first time I've seen this channel and you missed the point the main point I was say in about is after being sealed resealed several times over the entire history of the series be figured out how to make seals of his own a dark seal that seals away pieces of the world
Nice video. Another interesting thing about the Japanese version is the name of ‘Tri’ … ‘Torii’ ‘トリイ’. I don’t know if there is connection with ‘torii gates’ or not but kind of makes sense if there is?
I did think about that connection as well at first! Even my native Japanese partner had the same idea as the Japanese for "Triforce" would suggest that Tri should have been called トラィ in Japanese rather than トリィ which does sound like the Torri gates for sure. Most Japanese players seem to think it's connected to Triforce so far, but I wouldn't dismiss the idea of Tri being an entity that allows Zelda to venture into the rifts or something similar yet, either. I agree with you and it's definitely an idea to keep an eye on just in case!
So a translation question: in Oracle of ages localized version the Maku tree says that the time gap between past and present is 400 years what did they say in the japanese version?
Would be an interesting plot twist for sure but personally i'm sure Aonuma wishes to keep the timeline ambiguous indefinetly for the very purpose of keeping players guessing as to how it all fits together.
What is interesting is that there is a strong hint that we will see or even interact with Link (maybe even play him after all like switching between him and Zelda) as Link's Sword on the cover is different than the one in the trailer.
I think its the same sword, the art just draws it slightly differently from the character model. Its got the same color scheme and there's only a very slight difference in shape.
@@JaidynReiman nope. The model on the key art is not drawn. The sword is definitely different. Different handle shape and color as well as different shape for the blade.
Very intriguing, the fact that there seem to be islands within the space of the rifts much like other sacred spaces in the Zelda series, like the Sacred Realm and the Zonai's ancient kingdom, does seem to suggest a kami connection too. The way this game seems to draw aesthetically and conceptually from so many different eras of the Zelda series is really interesting too.
It'll be interesting to learn if the islands were there originally or if they are parts of Hyrule's own landscape that's been consumed by the rifts. Hyrule was the original sacred realm after all! It's possible it could be a mix, too. Some food for thought!
@@QuestWithAaron Yeah I thought of that possibility as well, if Ganon is the one causing it, since it appears to come from his trident, to be able to drag entire places into these rifts is one of the more destructive things he's ever done.
@@user-if4nx2jn8r It's worth noting that in the gamebox's cover Ganon is shown right next to Link rather than above him implying both characters are been _affected_ by the rifts with Ganon himself sharing Link's predicament in some extent. To me the box cover is a dead give away that a brand new villain is using the rifts for the possible intent of messing with the fabric or reality within the Zelda world which would include both the Hero and Demon King.
@@javiervasquez625 Yeah that's possible too, it may even be that the villain can use another form of "echoes" like Zelda can to replicate things and people. Typically Ganon has been the main villain in any game he appears but A Link Between World established that he doesn't necessarily always have to be.
Even though we may have not had a playable Princess Zelda in Tears of the Kingdom and see more of her journey in the past, the reveal trailer of Exhoes of Wisdom had filled me with such excitement and joy! Many of Zelda fans have been waiting for the Princess of Hyrule to have her own adventures since The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
I am very excited for this game as well, it really does look beautiful and I can't wait to learn more! I would have loved to have been able to play as Zelda and go through her story in Skyward Sword, too!
I just assume Ganon created the rift to begin with and it was his trick to defeat Link. My guess is Link will be possessed by Ganon at some point, Zelda will get the ability to "echo" Link, and Zelda will either help Link defeat Ganon or use an echo of Link to defeat Ganon. I see no reason to think we have a brand new antagonist that isn't Ganon. Ganon being an echo maybe could happen as a bonus thing post-game but I kinda doubt it.
@@JaidynReiman Do note that Ganon appears on the gamebox cover right next to Link _side by side_ which to me says he's also been affected by wathever character/villain or phenomenon is causing the rifts to appear and take way chunks of the kingdom. I bet that a new villain is responsible for what's happening with Ganon himself been a victim just like Link.
What can I say, languages are really complex! There's plenty to analyse, discuss and theorise about. Oh, and I love The Legend of Zelda! This term stood out to me immediately because of its connection to Ghibli
I love (and I mean LOVE) the concept of Rifts. A lot of people regard the concept as simply holes in space or reality, but I think that is a conceptualization that is only born from the evaluation of the Rift as a means of passage. I think it's way more stimulating to conceive of Rifts as more akin to a sheet of paper than a hole. Allow me to rant. The potential of a Rift is the same as the potential of a sheet of paper. If all that you can perceive of said paper's potential is what lies on the other side of it's dimensions, then that is all the potential that you will ever extract from it, like poking a hole or tearing it open to reach what lies beyond it. You perceive a hole, and a hole is all that you shall get. BUT if you can perceive the greater potential of the Rift, then you can perceive a means of bringing unconventional, innovative, and otherworldly things into the world. Like how instead of tearing open the paper, you can use its potential as a means of creating something entirely new!
I love the idea of Link excitedly telling Zelda what he did after he defeats Ganon and her just sitting there, happily watching as he’s talking and recounting his adventures with a big smile on his face. It seems to me that they, at the very least, became best friends. At least 😂
They did say that Zelda would be the main character, but I guess that wouldn't eliminate the possibility! I also think it would be awesome if Zelda could make an "echo" of Link, too!
@@QuestWithAaron I do think Link is playable in the opening battle, but personally I doubt Link is playable beyond that point. I agree I think we will see a "Link" echo as a late game unlock, though.
@@QuestWithAaron In Hindu Mythology If You Read The Bhagavad Gita Then You Will Know The Stories Of The Devdas (Gods) And The Asuras And The Kamikakushi Is Also Present Like Mount Kailash Is Also A Kamikakushi And No One Is Allowed To Climb The Mountain For If Shiva's Angry He'll Turn The Person To Ash And Yamlok Is One Aswell And Like Savitri When She Followed Yamraj To Yamlok To Save Her Husband So In India YES Its Present And EVERYWHERE
@@QuestWithAaron And In Kashi India When Someone Dies That Person's Soul Gets To Join Shiva In Kailash So Yeah Its Neat That There Are Various Kamikakushi In India Also India's Versions Of Kamikakushi Is Way Scarier Then Japan's Kamikakushi But It Depends On Which Story Your Hearing The Story How Kali Was Created Will Scare The Pants Off Of Ya
It really is eternal. Hyrule’s cycle of life and death, ruin and renewal, good and evil, it’ll never end because this isn’t a curse to be broken, it is the lingering will of this big bastard that remains so long as it is unfulfilled, and it can never be fulfilled because it’d be the end of everything. I forget the term, but something used in botw was this concept of conceit and delusion and fixation in the malice of Ganon. It’s because he (or perhaps rather just the spiritual will he is infected by) is like trying to pour yourself a drink into a cup with a hole in the bottom. Cursed with insatiable desire, as in it literally cannot be satiated and thus cannot ever go away. And on an extra gloomy note, it doesn’t matter how powerful the forces of good become. It always comes crashing down. Advanced societies come and go in the Zelda universe and they never last, even when they sometimes stick around for eons. They always get brought low by the onnen plaguing Hyrule since the start. But hey, on the plus side it means we’ll never run out of Zelda games!
As confirmed by Aaron this "you know what" is already *dead* and what keeps evil from perishing for good is the ever present shoen within the world _itself_ which ensures new characters filled with inner evil and greed to cause more conflicts and tragedies to befall the world indefinetly as a preordained constant within the very fabric of reality. Wether it is a minish student getting "interested in the darkness within men" (Vaati), a male gerudo king with an entitled lust for conquest and dominance over the entire world (Ganondorf), another "Bringer of Demise" set to spread his evil (Malladus) or even an inanimate mask given agency after absorbing the shoen of the many tribesmen who donned it during rituals (Majora) the very natural existence of Evil in the Zelda world will inevitably usher the birth of a new malicious being set to spread shoen as the ever natural cycle which sustains the very existence of the Zelda universe. All that said you forgot a point from one of Aaron's prior videos where he addresses the _counterbalance_ to shoen with the many gods, goddesses and the Light and Order which they bring to cleanse the world from shoen and so restore balance as it was before its natural spread. At the moment i can't remember which video it was where he translates texts pertaining to the role the many gods fulfill within the established Lore but i could search it up if you like to understand the other side of the thematic conflict portrayed in the series. While i myself can't agree with the notion that The Legend of Zelda won't last "forever" i can assure that if Miyamoto or Aonuma feel the main storyline has reached a definitive end they'll reboot the franchise from scratch with a new timeline detached from the current one.
As confirmed by Aaron this "you know what" is already *dead* and what keeps evil from perishing for good is the ever present shoen within the world _itself_ which ensures new characters filled with inner evil and greed to cause more conflicts and tragedies to befall the world indefinetly as a preordained constant within the very fabric of reality. Wether it is a minish student getting "interested in the darkness within men" (Vaati), a male gerudo king with an entitled lust for conquest and dominance over the entire world (Ganondorf), another "Bringer of Demise" set to spread his evil (Malladus) or even an inanimate mask given agency after absorbing the shoen of the many tribesmen who donned it during rituals (Majora) the very natural existence of Evil in the Zelda world will inevitably usher the birth of a new malicious being set to spread shoen as the ever natural cycle which sustains the very existence of the Zelda universe.
As confirmed by Aaron this "you know what" is completley *dead* and what keeps evil from been vanquished for good is the ever present shoen within the world _itself_ which ensures new characters filled with evil and greed to cause more conflicts to befall the world indefinetly as a preordained constant within the very fabric of reality. Wether it is a minish student been "interested in the darkness within men" (Vaati), a male gerudo king with an entitled lust for conquest and dominance over the entire world (Ganondorf), another "Bringer of Demise" set to spread his evil (Malladus) or even an inanimate mask given agency after absorbing the shoen of the many tribesmen who donned it during rituals (Majora) the very natural existence of Evil in the Zelda world will inevitably usher the birth of a new malicious being set to spread shoen as the ever natural cycle which sustains the very existence of the Zelda universe. All that said you forgot a point from one of Aaron's prior videos where he addresses the _counterbalance_ to shoen with the many gods, goddesses and the Light and Order which they bring to cleanse the world from shoen and so restore balance as it was before its natural spread. At the moment i can't remember which video it was where he translates texts pertaining to the role the many gods fulfill within the established Lore but i could search it up if you like to understand the other side of the thematic conflict portrayed in the series. While i myself can't agree with the notion that The Legend of Zelda won't last "forever" i can assure that if Miyamoto or Aonuma feel the main storyline has reached a definitive end they'll reboot the franchise from scratch with a new timeline detached from the current one.
As confirmed by Aaron this "you know what" is completley *dead* and what keeps evil from been vanquished for good is the ever present shoen within the world _itself_ which ensures new characters filled with evil and greed to cause more conflicts to befall the world indefinetly as a preordained constant within the very fabric of reality. Wether it is a minish student been "interested in the darkness within men" (Vaati), a male gerudo king with an entitled lust for conquest and dominance over the entire world (Ganondorf), another "Bringer of Demise" set to spread his evil (Malladus) or even an inanimate mask given agency after absorbing the shoen of the many tribesmen who donned it during rituals (Majora) the very natural existence of Evil in the Zelda world will inevitably usher the birth of a new malicious being set to spread shoen as the ever natural cycle which sustains the very existence of the Zelda universe.
As confirmed by Aaron this "you know what" is completley *dead* and what keeps evil from been vanishing for good is the ever present shoen within the world _itself_ which ensures new villains filled with evil and greed befall the world indefinetly as a preordained constant within the very fabric of the Zelda universe. Wether it is a minish student "interested in the darkness within men" (Vaati), a male gerudo king with an entitled thirst for conquest and dominance over the entire world (Ganondorf), another "Bringer of Demise" set to spread evil across the world (Malladus) or even an inanimate mask given agency after absorbing the shoen of the many tribesmen who donned it during rituals (Majora) the very natural existence of Evil in the Zelda world will inevitably usher the birth of a new being set to spread shoen as the ever natural cycle which sustains the very existence of the Zelda universe. All that said you forgot a point from one of Aaron's prior videos where he addresses the _counterbalance_ to shoen with the many gods, goddesses and the Light and Order which they bring to cleanse the world from shoen and so restore balance as it was before its natural spread. At the moment i can't remember which video it was where he translates texts pertaining to the role the many gods fulfill within the established Lore but i could search it up if you like to understand the other side of the thematic conflict portrayed in the series. While i myself can't agree with the notion that The Legend of Zelda won't last "forever" i can assure that if Miyamoto or Aonuma feel the main storyline has reached a definitive end they'll reboot the franchise from scratch with a new timeline detached from the current one.
A karma/manifestation system is so interesting. The idea that your past lives retain karma and how the environment influences or gets influenced by your positive and negative emotions at least in some part of my mind in a spiritual sense makes complete sense especially when some people who have only done good have bad things happened to them. Like in a previous life they might've done negative actions but once reincarnated that karma from before is still retained despite the fact they took a different path that lead them to being different than before. So in this case Link and Zelda are always so pure because the actions they've done in their previous lives were so positive that they've retained that karma in a self sustaining cycle.
A karma/manifestation system is so interesting. The idea that your past lives retain karma and how the environment influences or gets influenced by your positive and negative emotions at least in some part of my mind in a spiritual sense makes complete sense especially when some people who have only done good have bad things happened to them. Like in a previous life they might've done negative actions but once reincarnated that karma from before is still retained despite the fact they took a different path that lead them to being different than before. So in this case Link and Zelda are always so pure because the actions they've done in their previous lives were so positive that they've retained that karma in a self sustaining cycle.
A bit inconsistent when it comes to Link as the series has a track record of allowing him to be quite mischievous by commiting all sorts of trouble ranging from harming cattle like cuccos and Ordon goats, to outright stealing items from item shops and even harming NPCs as seen in the Wild duology. For such a "pure-hearted" character Link's misdeeds across the timeline give little incentive to allow him to constantly reincarnate as a noble Hero.
Your videos are always a great watch, because I learn a lot alongside the fact they help deepen ToTK's writing to levels I never thought about since the japanese script describes ideas and thoughts that can't be fully translated in other languages. The French translation does its absolute best but thanks to this video, it gave more depth to Ganondorf's character and motivation that I wouldn't have been able to piece together by myself!
It’s amazing just how much deeper these recent Zelda games become the more you understand Buddhism and Japanese thematics. It’s a shame they’re so difficult to translate. I had always interpreted BotW as a Buddhist piece, but seeing how deeply entrenched it is in SS and TotK’s concept of good and evil adds so much to stories that others feel are generic or thin respectively. Zelda has always survived more on thematics than strong narrative beats, and these games are no exception. Thank you for sharing this perspective and helping to clarify some of the intention of these games
It definitely feels like to me that BotW has more Buddhist inspired themes like the monks in the shrines and the power of malice. Whereas TotK contains more themes related to Shinto like the zen garden design found on Zonai architecture, Gloom as kegare and an embodiment that corrupts Kami and nature, among much more. With that said the two are often intertwined and there are very often other influences from other cultures as well.
Very interesting bit of knowledge about the translation. As a French player, i had no idea that our version of Demise is, in a way, closer to the original phrasing in Japanese. Skyward Sword refers to him as the "Avatar du néant", which could be translated in English as "Embodiment / vessel of nothingness" or something like that. The French word "néant" isn't simply a synonym for "void" or "nothingness" though, as it also carries an even stronger idea implying total obliteration of existence, something even "more empty" that a simple void.
In Spanish something similar happens, demise has no name and is just referred by the title "the harbinger of death" as his ultimate goal is to bring death to the creation of the goddesses.
Same goes to the German Version, in there Demise is called "Todbringer" which translates into Deathbringer/Bringer of Death. Seeing the other Translations here and even comparing other translations to the Japanese, it kinda proofs to me that the English Translation in these cases might be the most which are changed by leaving out important Details.
