Blue Lock - Vol. 8 Ch. 65 - A Prank of Fate

[InariChi]

@gamerstyle666 Well, we know who the misogynistic as*hole is everyone.

The word 'retard' has a negative connotation and it's an offensive, derogatory way to speak of those with mental retardation (intellectual disability) which is a real condition that people have. And when you speak the word 'retard' in such a destructive way, you are, in fact, directly perpetuating the negative stereotypes for people with intellectual disabilities. It's simply insulting. Hence why it can trigger others and make them uncomfortable when used in such a harmful way. If you can not understand that, then you need to go back to your remedial classes and learn again. But even then, I think human decency and compassion would be far out of your league.

This goes for those who think it's alright and are poking fun at those who would like for them to stop using the term.
Do not @ me either. Quite frankly, I don't have the time to entertain children.

 

[southaccel]

 

[Dunslax]

MC is using it specifically to get back at Barou. It wouldn't work if he used another word.

 

[WillLi]

So many people in these comments need to get over themselves. Ya'll can't even get definitions right. The problem in society with the word 'retard' is that it's essentially making fun of people with mental retardation. Which is a real thing. It's not because it's a 'slur' technically it's a medical term. However, it's being used as an insult, insults aren't supposed to be nice. Yeah it's not a nice word, but wanting to filter out all the mean words is just foolishness. It's one thing if someone is saying the word jokingly or lightly, to be like "You shouldn't say that, that's offensive." But you guys are sitting here saying "You shouldn't say that it's offensive" to a situation where someone is -trying- to offend someone. The point of the usage of the word in the series is to that Barou is utterly crass and insensitive, and to show that Isagi is being cold, harsh, and trampling over Barou's ego. The situation is not supposed to be light and fluffy, or polite, or politically correct. What the characters are doing is down right deplorable when you get to the root of it, and their speech should be reflecting their attitude and mind set. Otherwise you get shit like "You mother-fluffer I'm gonna beat your backside when I catch you!" That sounds stupid.

If the word offends you then you are free to leave. But stop trying to tell other people what they should be offended by.

 

[Ubergeek]

i don't have a dog in this fight but there are other less controversial words that can convey the same meaning. but at this point the bed's been made imo. the point of the scene is isagi throwing barou's signature insult back at him. at this point if you replace the r word here, for the scene to retain its significance, you'd have to go back and replace every instance of the word being used and its pretty unreasonable to ask the scanlators to do that.

 

[GeneralOuki]

I agree with the other commenter in here that "weakling" is a much better word to use since the japanese word is "hetakuso"

 

[Rhinoceros]

Hetakuso is a really, really rude word though. Emphasis on the kuso part.

 

[NinjaSpider]

@Rhinoceros that's, uh, just false. It's present in almost every shounen and is nonchalantly and jokingly used between teammates as well. It just means to be unskilled, so in this context refers to the other person being bad at football.

 

[WillLi]

@GeneralOuki "weakling" doesn't do hetakuso right though. Hetakuso isn't being 'weak' at something, it's essentially being 'laughably bad' or 'shitty' at it. You're literally putting together heta(not good at something) and kuso(shit).

@NinjaSpider You might want to look the word up.

 

[genesic_gunleon]

@GeneralOuki thanks for providing the Japanese word. This was slang being used so I was curious about the original.

 

[thegentelman]

isagi reminds me of aizen and how ridiculous it was that whatever happened was always part of his plan

Spoiler

 

[Flouffe]

@WillLi Wouldn't something like "trash" work fine here then?

 

[NinjaSpider]

@WillLi I said it refers to the person being bad at football and you're saying it means the person being laughably bad at football. Not sure what's the huge difference here but ok, perhaps my comment did not get the degree of 'shittiness' across. That being the case, please enlighten me on how "retard" is an accurate translation, assuming you support that view.

 

[caffarella]

barou.. when u gonna wake up from being useless..? 🤣

 

[manucarrera22]

This is HYPE af, thanks for the translation

 

[WillLi]

@Flouffe "Trash" could technically work, but also it's not as 'rude'. There are 'better' ways to convey it. But the point I'm making is, the MC is not being nice at all about things here. The best comparison would be something like "You're just shit tier" but that loses a lot of bite because how many words it is.

@Ninjaspider The reason I told you to look it up, is because the word -is- rude. Very much so. You have to realize just because it's in manga doesn't mean it's not rude. Actually Japanese manga is -very- rude with how they speak. It's a common saying among actual Japanese speakers "Don't learn Japanese from anime and manga" cause if you speak like that in Japan you'd pretty much never be able to land a job cause you'd be seen as a very rude person.

As for the word 'retard' I already explained that in a post a few post down, go read it, but the long story short is, the MC is intentionally being very very rude. It's supposed to be a serious insult, and as you saw Barou actually took offense to it. It's not supposed to be 'soft'. There are many words you can use for it yes, but 'retard' isn't 'wrong', and it's more accurate than something soft like "weakling" or "fool". This is the kinda level of word where you can say it to your 'friends' and they'll just get mad for a bit, but if you say it to a stranger they start taking it personally, and if it's really the wrong person you might have a fight.

Edit: I thought of this after I stepped away a moment so adding it in at the edit. But for every who is super offended by the word, take note to realize, at one time the word 'dumb' was used to refer to mute people. It's actually definition still talks about being unable to speak. But look at how we use it now. Technically 'dumb' should be just as offensive, but it's not because words are only offensive two ways, by the history of them, and by if we choose to consider them offensive. People have forgotten how dumb used to be used and no one cares when it's used now. Does that mean we should've used the word in teh first place? No rude it still rude, but getting offended at someone deciding to say something insulting because it's a word you don't like is silly.

 

[NinjaSpider]

@WillLi But how does "retard" preserve any inkling of the "you're trash at football" sense of the original word when the only connotation it has is one of cognitive impairment?

 

[WillLi]

@Ninjaspider The way the word is used in English doesn't just imply mental failings, but rather gross ineptitude at something. It's used as sort of a catch all super harsh way to just say "You're bad." One 'good' example is it's commonly used when someone tries to do something that is beyond their own ability and they mess up. Like if someone tries to jump over a chair but they suck at jumping, and they end up flat on their face, someone might say it.

And again it's not the 'best' word to use, but if we're looking at context and connotation, it's still a feasible translation, and the word is supposed to be offensive. There aren't a lot of options in English that would be considered in the right level of 'rudeness'. For the most part you have to either lose accuracy, or lose 'bite'. And personally I think the 'bite' is more important to this manga than the accuracy.

 

[AgentO]

Just binged this and I'm laughing at the state of some people in this comment section. I agree with @WillLi you lot really need to get over yourselves the MC is literally just shit talking back to King. The fact people are getting so butthurt over "retard" being used in a derogatory manner is literally the entire point of the MC saying it to King: it's supposed to be taken offensively! MC is crushing King's ego with no mercy lol. If you lot are getting so fidgety over it, imagine how shit King feels! That's the entire point lol. You lot deffo haven't played football or been to a football match cos you wouldnt be so fragile if you had lol. Of all the things I would call King if I was in MCs position, retard seems the least offensive lol.

It's not like the comparison don't make sense, a mentally disabled person is never gonna play football as well as a mentally healthy person, that's literally the reason why people say it. It's not taking the piss out of mentally disabled people, it's just a comparison. Imagine the state of it when calling someone "deaf" or "blind" is considered offensive cos that's the way we're going lol.

 

[A_r41]

Can you lot please stop getting offended for all of us, please?

Manga is one of the few places many, me included, come to be away from the PC BS, and the way the MC uses the word "retard" in this game so far is perfectly apt. Furthermore, the comments above talking about the translation do a good job explaining why words like "trash" aren't suitable in this context.

So if you feel uncomfortable, please read other translations that make you feel "safe". STOP assuming that you are speaking for all of us and spoil the amazing experience this manga and these translations have provided so far. Thanks.