Curiosities and Quotes from Overwatch in Japanese

What is written in the city of Hanamura? What do Hanzo and Genji say when using their ultimate ability? In this article, we will look at some curiosities and study some phrases from Overwatch in Japanese. If you are from the gamer universe and still do not know this epic game released in 2016 that mixes an FPS (first-person shooter) with heroic characters with different abilities that provide a totally unique gameplay style. I will also take the opportunity to mention some curiosities involving Overwatch in Japan!

Game Description: In times of global crisis, a group of heroes comes together in an international task force to restore peace in a world devastated by war. The group called Overwatch ended the crisis and helped maintain peace in the following decades, inspiring an era of exploration, innovation, and discovery. But after many years, Overwatch’s influence waned, until one day it disbanded. Now, conflicts have begun to arise again around the world, and new and old heroes have been summoned.

Hanzo and Genji – Shimada Clan

Let’s start translating 2 phrases from these Dragon brothers! They are the ults (ultimate abilities) that are pronounced in Japanese during the game, no matter what language the game is in. The ultimate ability of both characters is related to dragons.

Hanzo – A skilled archer says in his ultimate ability: 

龍が我が敵を食らう; 
Ryuu ga waga teki wo kurau;

The Dragon eats (my) our enemies;

• 龍 (Ryuu) – Dragon.
• が (ga) – Particle that marks the subject of the sentence.
• 我が (waga) – My (archaic).
• 敵 (teki) – Enemy(ies).
• を (wo) – Particle that marks the direct object of the action.
• 食らう (kurau) – To eat (in an aggressive or emphatic way).

This phrase has its literal translation as: “The Dragon eats our enemies”, but depending on the context, it is poetically interpreted as “The Dragon consumes our enemies”. The use of the verb “consumes” adds a symbolic and dramatic weight to the phrase, which is common in translations that seek to impact the reader.

The name Hanzo is written 島田半蔵 (Shimada Hanzo). Shimada is a city in Shizouka province and also refers to a hairstyle and haircut style popular in the Edo period. Hanzo is the combination of the ideograms (半) half, odd number and (蔵) to hide, to possess a warehouse.

The name Hanzo is historically associated with Hattori Hanzo, a famous samurai and ninja master, which can give the character a tone of strength and mystery.

Genji – A master sword ninja says in his ultimate ability: 

竜神の剣を喰らえ; 
Ryuujin no ken wo kurae;

Receive the sword of the dragon god;

1. 竜神 (Ryuujin) – Dragon God.
2. の (no) – Possessive particle (“of”).
3. 剣 (ken) – Sword.
4. を (wo) – Particle that marks the direct object.
5. 喰らえ (kurae) – Imperative form of “devour”.

Although some sites claim that the translation is Face the sword of the Dragon, the verb 喰らえ literally means to receive a blow, it also means to eat and drink. The word 竜神 literally consists of the ideograms for dragon and god, but does not necessarily indicate a dragon god but can indicate a dragon king. The ideogram 剣 literally means sword, it can be a double-edged sword, a saber, or blade, the term is used for swords in general.

Genji’s name is written 源氏, where (源) means source, origin and (氏) means family name, surname, and clan. Of course, these ideograms may have some unknown and historical meanings and references that I am not aware of.

In addition, Genji says other words in Japanese during the game:

• “始め！” – (hajime!) – Start!;
• “水のように流れ” (mizu no yō ni nagare) – Flow like water;
• “俺は風だ！” (ore wa kaze da) – I am like the wind!
• “覚悟” (kakugo) – Preparation / I am prepared;
• “まだまだ” (mada mada) – Not yet, not yet!
• “いざ尋常に勝負” (iza jinjō ni shōbu) – Let’s play fair;
• “くそ” (kuso) – Damn / Shit;
• “上等だ” (joutou da) – Let’s fight;
• “我が魂は まだ燃えておる” (waga tamashī wa mada moete oru) – My soul is still burning;
• “防衛戦願おう” (bōei-sen negaou) – Let’s wait for our defense result;
• “我が心明鏡止水” (waga kokoro meikyōshisui) – My mind is as bright and clear as a stainless mirror;
• “我が魂は均衡を求める” (waga tamashī wa kinkō o motomeru) – My soul seeks balance;

Exploring Overwatch in Japanese

The name of the stage hanamura (花村) takes place in Japan and means village of flowers. In this stage, we can notice several secrets and references to the Japanese language and Japan. Upon entering the stage in the waiting area, you find a red curtain written:

竜の吐息で魂も凍る (parte direita); 
Ryuu no toiki de tamashii mo kouru;

Through the breath of the Dragon, the soul freezes;

竜の心で気合全開 (parte esquerda);
Ryuu no kokoro de kiai zenkai;

Through the heart of the dragon, the spirit exuberates;

The word 気合 can be translated as shout or fighting spirit. The word 全開 can be translated as fully open or at full throttle. In the Shimada castle, you find 2 more identical writings on the wall with a well-known Japanese proverb:

七転八起
shichiten hakki
nana korobi ya oki;

When you fall 7 times, get up 8;

In the middle of the Shimada castle in the cinematic animation, you also find another giant scroll written 竜頭蛇尾 (ryuutoudabi). This word is another pun of the Japanese language, as this word refers to an anticlimax or something that started strong and ended weak. However, if you examine each ideogram, you can understand that they also mean dragon’s head.

To finish, let’s look at a quite complicated phrase to translate found on a statue of the koi robot:

とやちはやちはるぎなみ命舞の鯉
To ya chi haya Chiharu gina mi inochi-mai no koi

As the phrase is all in hiragana, it is complicated to translate it. We can find the kanji for life (inochi – 命) and 舞の鯉, which can be understood as the dance of the carp. Some believe that 命 may refer to the god Mikoto. It is possible that this statue may be related to the legend of the Dragon.

Curiosities about Japanese Overwatch

The voice of D.va in Overwatch in Japanese is done by Risa Taneda famous for the voice of Kaori from Shigatsu wa kimi no uso, Erina from Shokugeki no Souma and Mirai from Kyoukai no Kanata;

The voice of Pharah in Overwatch in Japanese is done by Romi Park famous for the voice of Edward from FMA, Temari from Naruto and Zoe from Shingeki. To see other voice actresses of the voices of Overwatch in Japanese click here. 

To finish, let’s leave the first trailer of the game in Japanese. I hope you enjoyed this short article with some phrases from Overwatch in Japanese! Don’t forget to share and leave your comments.