We are going to do KUSE NI because I used to hate it, and really, the only way to un-hate something is force yourself to like it? Right? I mean, it totally worked with this guy:
Okay, maybe not... but hopefully, today's in depth KUSE-NI-a-thon is going to change that.
First off! Let me introduce you to the first song, which embarrassingly has my favorite photos from when I lived in Asia. Just bear with them, will ya? I made the thing because I was sad I was leaving, and I wanted to share some of the photos with my friends. Sadly, it still brings tears to my eyes!
The lyric in question can be found at 4:27.
何でもアリだな 僕が思うより
転んでもアリだな 君が思うより
答えは出てるんでしょう 相談するくせに
どこでもいいなら君もつれて行くよ
Nandemo ARI da na boku ga omou yori
Korondemo ARI dana Kimiga omou yori
Kotae wa deterundeshou soudan suru kuse ni
Dokodemo ii nara kimi mo tsureteyuku yo
I felt the need to put the whole verse in because I thought it would be hard to explain. I've bolded the KUSE NI in question.
KUSE NI means "although" but it has a very negative connotations. The example sentence I really like in the book is:
- よく知らないくせに、あの人は何でも説明したがる。
- Yoku shiranai kuse ni, ano hito ha nandemo setsumei shitagaru.
- Although s/he doesn't know anything, that person wants to explain everything.
So, it can be pretty catty when you use it, which of course I LOVE. But, that is not always the case. For example, let's look at the lyric above.
It's more than I think.
It's slipping more than you think
Although we talk about it, the answer is escaping us
Anywhere we go is fine, as long as you follow me
Isn't that nice? It's a very sweet lyric even if he uses the very negative KUSE NI. The image that doesn't translate very well is this: because they only talk about leaving, they never get anywhere. But that is something we tend to imply in English, whereas Japanese has a nice word for it
But, I suppose I must concede there are other things that are more pertinent to Japanese pop culture than my very obvious love/obsession/hard-on for MONGOL800. Well, there is! 勇者のくせになまいきだ! In English, the game is called "What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord?" which is not an exact translation, but it really is a million times better than any sort of translation I could come up with if I was limited to trying to translate it literally. Anyway, in this game, you play the villian, and you attempt to keep the hero away from your hideout by building booby-trapped mazes.
- 勇者のくせになまいきだ
- Yuusha no kuse ni namaiki da.
- Literal Translation: Although you're a hero, you're pretty cheeky/impudent.
- Prettier translations: You're pretty cheeky for a hero.
As I understand it, the game is not popular outside of Japan at all, nor was it that popular in Japan anyway. It was popular enough, though, to warrant a sequel. If you want to check out the gameplay, I very graciously provided you with a trailer here:
Well, that's it for me today! I think next will be a little post about the awesome writer, Banana Yoshimoto.
Nice blog! How'd you score on JLPT N2? Did you take / are you planning to take N1? If you're still studying, you should continue the blog.
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