Amachan: Subbing Project (Complete) Update* NEW & IMPROVED SUBS!

[earth_colors]

Amachan is the 88th 2013 NHK asadora written by Kankuro Kudo (Tiger and Dragon, Unobore Deka). It's about Amano Aki (Nounen Rena), a 16 year old girl from Tokyo who goes to her mother's former home in Sodegahama, a fishing village in Kitasanriku, Iwate prefecture for the summer break. She falls in love with the sea and its people, and decides to stay on to become an Ama (women divers who fetch clams and sea urchins for tourists) just like her grandmother, Natsu (Miyamoto Nobuko). Her decision is welcomed wholeheartedly by Natsu and the other locals. However, her mother Haruko (Koizumi Kyoko) does not like the idea at first. She has a strained relationship with Natsu, and her extreme dislike of the sea, diving and the countryside is one of the reasons why she left her hometown 24 years ago. Eventually, she decides to stay in Sodegahama with Aki, considering that she is contemplating on getting a divorce anyway and does not want to go back to her husband in Tokyo. She also notices that it might be good for Aki for she seems livelier and happier in Kitasanriku than in Tokyo. The road towards becoming a full-fledged Ama-san is tough for Aki as she encounters tests and hurdles. One day, a video of her as an Ama gets uploaded in the city's tourism website, transforming an ordinary high school girl into an overnight Internet sensation. Suddenly she is called upon to use this opportunity to attract tourists to a city suffering from depopulation...
© original text by: earthcolors (info and all pix used are from nhk/amachan)

~AMA-CHAN~
Subbing Project
and Episode Guides

Subtitles by Wabi-Sabi Subs
Translation / Editing / Timing: earthcolors
Additional Translation / JP Consultant: danburi

Special thanks for the raws: xaxa

Notes:
I am writing these episode guides to help out non-Japanese speaking viewers who are interested in finding out what's going on in the drama.
I cannot make the commitment to sub it (see reason HERE) so please do not ask for subtitles.
Warning: Unlike the episode previews or sneak peeks which I usually write in my drama notes, this time, I am giving away the whole story (but not really too detailed, just plain summaries at the start but gets more detailed by Week 7), hence, there will be spoilers (Anyway, just by looking at the episode titles below, they're already little spoilers by themselves).
And pls. don't mind if I interject little comments about certain scenes (it's something I don't get to do when I sub).
Thanks to danburi-san for stuff I don't get :D! Disclaimer: Some quotes from the drama are altered to properly convey a particular scene.
UPDATE 1: Decided to sub it after all... Weekly Episode Guides will be put on hold for the meantime since my priority will be given to subbing this drama. I will update the Weekly Episode Titles though, just in case you're wondering what's going on in the story so far...
 UPDATE 2: Subs are done after three and half months! Will resort to finishing episode summaries soon. But for the meantime, I will be taking a long break. :)
 UPDATE 3: Added subs for Amachan Special Performance at the 64th Kouhaku Utagassen! Translation by danburi. :D I have also added more Trivia Notes and resumed with Summary Episodes!

 NEW ANNOUNCEMENT! In line with Amachan's 5th Birthday (April 1, 2018), I am releasing revised and improved subs, plus brand new aegisubs version!

New and Improved Softsubs (timed to raws encoded from NGB files only)

Aegisubs (Recommended):
Weeks 1-9: (here)
Weeks 10-18: (here)
Weeks 19-26 plus Kouhaku Utagassen Special Performance: (here)

SRT:
Weeks 1-10: (here)
Weeks 11-20: (here)
Weeks 21-26 plus Kouhaku Utagassen Special Performance: (here)

Raw links:
(Weeks 1-26) (Kouhaku Cut Performance)

Episode Guides:

Part 1: "Hometown Arc"
Week 1: Eps. 1-6. "I like this sea!" (Summaries)
Week 2: Eps. 7-12. "I don't want to go back to Tokyo" (Summaries)
Week 3: Eps. 13-18. "I was able to make friends!" (Summaries)
Week 4: Eps. 19-24. "I caught a sea urchin" (Summaries)
Week 5: Eps. 25-30. "I like Senpai!" (Summaries)
Week 6: Eps. 31-36. "My Grandpa is on a rampage!" (Summaries)
Week 7: Eps. 37-42. "My mom has a history" (Summaries)
Week 8: Eps. 42-48. "My heart can't stop pounding, neh~" (Summaries Part 1 & Part 2)
Week 9: Eps. 49-54. "My big heartbreak" (Summaries)
Week 10: Eps. 55-60. "I'm being scouted?!" (Summaries)
Week 11: Eps. 61-66. "I want to be an idol!" (Summaries Part 1 & Part 2)
Week 12: Eps. 67-72. "I'm going to Tokyo!" (Summaries Part 1 & Part 2)

Part 2: "Tokyo Arc"
Week 13: Eps. 73-78. "I've fallen into naraku*!" (*hell or theater basement) (Summaries Part 1 & Part 2)
Week 14: Eps. 79-84. "I'm going to be an assistant to a great actress" (Summaries Part 1 & Part 2)
Week 15: Eps. 85-90. "My battle without honor and humanity" (Summaries Part 1 & Part 2)
Week 16: Eps. 91-96. "My mom has a history 2"  (Summaries)
Week 17: Eps. 97-102. "I can't stop the sadness/loneliness" (Summaries)
Week 18: Eps. 103-108. "I'm going back to my hometown?!" (Summaries)
Week 19: Eps. 109-114. "My heart is re-ignited" (Summaries)
Week 20: Eps. 115-120. "My Bappa's rare journey of love" (Summaries)
Week 21: Eps. 121-126. "Our big turn-around" (Summaries)
Week 22: Eps. 127-132. "My and my mom's shiosai no memories" (Summaries)
Week 23: Eps. 133-138. "I want to see everyone!" (Summaries)
Week 24: Eps. 139-144. "I love this sea after all!" (Summaries)
Week 25: Eps. 145-150. "We dream always" (Summaries - Soon!)
Final Week 26: Eps. 151-156. "We're hot neh~!" (Summaries - Soon!)

Character Guide: (Link)

Song Translations: (Link)

Trivia Notes:
Batch 1 (Part1) (Part2) (Part3)
Batch 2 (Part1) (Part2) (Part3)

Amachan Recipes: (mamebu) (tamagoyaki)

D-addicts: (Link)

Comments

Emotional Aki Amano Staring At The Sea

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Ms. earth_colors! I've been trying to locate a particular scene of Rena from among the Amachan episodes.

It's a close-up scene of an emotional/sentimental Aki Amano staring at the sea(?) wherein the music track #33 is being played in the background from the album "Amachan (TV Series)" Original Soundtrack (Music by Yoshihide Ohtomo).

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/VICL-64041
http://www.neowing.co.jp/product/VICL-64041/track?from_cdj=1

That scene, to my recollection, is in one of the episodes where she came back to her hometown from Tokyo. I did a re-watch of the "Tokyo Arc" episodes but I failed to locate the same. To give you an idea, it's somewhat similar to some of the scenes (especially @ 1:07) in this YouTube clip (but it's not there, unfortunately!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBV692ac9IA

It just struck me when I first saw it. It's just sensitively powerful! It's either that or I'm crushing on Rena ;-). Perhaps the combination of Aki's expression/emotion and the music, plus the range of experience that she has gone through in the build up of the story leading to that moment did it for me! (Another scene of Rena from Episode #111 @ 10:40 - 10:54 also overwhelms, at least for me, in this Amachan-watching experience!)

Oh by the way, what's with the empty cans in Episode #73 that Aki brought to Tokyo and in Episode #137 that she brought home when she came back to Iwate?

Thanks for your effort in making the subtitles and the episode guides! It makes watching Amachan such a treat! More Power! And give my regards to Rena!

From Senpai.

Re: Emotional Aki Amano Staring At The Sea

[earth_colors]

I'm sorry, I have no time to rewatch Amachan yet to find that scene. Are you sure it was after she got back to Kitasanriku after the earthquake? The song, Kikyuu, as I recall is usually played during very dramatic scenes (Aki's first hearbreak, when Suzuka Hiromi found out Haruko is her ghost singer).
I am also wondering about the cans. It wasn't clear what was written on them. Maybe they're just omiyage or souvenirs from places she came from to present as gifts to people in her destinations.
I'm glad you enjoyed Amachan. I'm planning to rewatch it soon, and maybe make aegisubs (.ass) version of the subtitles. I've been meaning to, for a long time. Maybe when I'm done with my current project, Gou Gou.

Re: Emotional Aki Amano Staring At The Sea

[(Anonymous)]

Jejejeh! Thanks for the reply!

I guess it's okay and that's just fine by me Ms. earth_colors. I would not want to burden you further with a chore. You can just regard it as my own little problem. You have done more than enough for everyone anyway!

Somehow, after some rewatching and having failed to identify from which episode the scene was, I'm not really sure anymore. I must have been mixed-up with the manner and with the order that I was watching it on TV initially and then on the Web with the rest of the episodes. But I'm quite sure about that music in the background! ;-)

Hey, goodluck with your Gou Gou Project!

Maraming Salamat!

From Senpai

Here below I'm just sharing:

In connection with Amachan being shown in the Philippines, a local idol group, Kawaii 5, went to Japan and actually performed there with their version of songs (in tagalog) from the drama:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkr_PIm-Rfc

And here's Amachan on TV5 - Trailers in Tagalog:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgTmRUvVubw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_davl_Mi5nE

Re: Emotional Aki Amano Staring At The Sea

[earth_colors]

You're welcome.
Yes, somebody PMed me about the show dubbed in your country. Did they enjoy it? I'm guessing it's hard to translate the jokes because of the Japanese pop cultural context, so maybe many of the lines were changed.

Re: Emotional Aki Amano Staring At The Sea

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, I think everyone who watched Amachan enjoyed it! I myself did! Some lines, I seem to notice, were changed slightly to suit the filipino audience (like using some filipino expressions in lieu of the japanese ones... not the jejejeh!). But not that many though. And there would be guides occasionally to help explain some japanese concepts or word meanings.

I got curious with this short film “Miyuki” which stars Rena Nounen (with long hair!) back in 2011.

http://www.shortshorts.org/2014/en/program/post_31.html
http://www.xingyule.com/detail/show/id/7173.html

Looks like a sad Rena in this sad short film in contrast with the effervescent Rena as Aki Amano in Amachan.


From Senpai

Amachan subs

[(Anonymous)]

I just watched Amachan on kissasian. Earth-colors, you did a superlative job on the subs. Thank you so much.

Re: Amachan subs

[earth_colors]

Thank you! But I have to admit, when I rewatched it recently, I noticed (now that my JP has improved since then) so many translation mistakes. I intend to put out a new aegisubs version with less mistakes haha. But will take a very long time.

Re: Amachan subs

[(Anonymous)]

Sometimes subtitle translations are stiff and formal, and suck the spirit out of the show. Your subtitles flows very naturally. Keep up the good work.

If you ever watch the classic (1999) drama "Suzuzan", you might enjoy it. It's about an new born baby that is abandoned in a train station, and adopted by the station master. It then follows her life until adulthood. I've been looking for an English subtitle version of this for years :-)

Black and white photographs of a young asian lady prompted me to re-visit Amachan!

[(Anonymous)]

Jejejeh! It surprises when you have this "one thing leads to another" experience!

While googling for images of something else (it escapes me already what exactly I was searching for), I chance upon these two old black and white photographs of a young asian lady. Her simply pure and innocent image immediately caught my attention:

http://img.shblog.jp/image/raw/chomatome/55d19859afc2d.jpg

http://articleimage.nicoblomaga.jp/image/64/2014/e/9/e9772b6aa978da5b0dcc26395c653b572071069d1396506035.jpg

Initially, I have no idea who she was and even that of her nationality. At that time I just have this strong sense of feeling to find out who she was and to know more of her.

To my surprise, when I "google reverse image" searched the photographs, it turns out that the cute young lady is actually not young anymore (she was born in 1945!) and is now a fine old woman of substance!

Then I discovered a video of this young lady performing a song (with another guy), which, to my mind, sounded so familiar. The other guy, it turns out to be the then younger idol of Natsu-Bappa, Mr. Hashi Yukio. That prompted me to do a re-visit of Amachan to check that out!

So what do you know?! It does not only sounds similar but is actually the same song after all. I suppose that must be the actual performance by which the re-imagined scene of then young Natsu and Mr. Yukio for Amachan was based from! I didn't catch it at first then, but still, to my surprise, her name was even actually mentioned in Amachan Episode 115 (@ 12:46) by the character of Mr. Yukio!

Here's the original video of that song performance (together with Mr. Yukio) from the original girl idol behind that song, Ms. Sayuri Yoshinaga:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7gUdZqgCJY

And as a bonus to your readers, here's another performance (a bit old-school by now but then) from an even younger and cuter Ms. Sayuri singing a song taken from her film Izu Dancer (1963) which I also have the pleasure of watching, but unfortunately, without subtitles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54WwMkde0-0

Re: Black and white photographs of a young asian lady prompted me to re-visit Amachan!

[(Anonymous)]

Ooopps! I just realized I didn't take notice that there is a link to the song translations! (Anyone can just imagine the Aki in me sort of saying "Jeh-Jehhh~" in a shameful surprise.) It appears that the ever diligent and resourceful Ms. Earth-colors got everything covered! :-)

[(Anonymous)]

I know it's been ages since you subbed this, but I just want to say thank you. I've only started watching Amachan recently, and I love it so much. Without your subs, it'd be impossible for me to enjoy this amazing drama. So, thank you very much :D

[earth_colors]

You're welcome. But I'm almost done with new, updated, more correct subs. I'll post them this March. I hope you'll get to use them.

[madoka_ayukawa]

Wow! Thank you! I had watched this 5 years ago, and already burned the series.... Now I want to watch it again.... Too bad I can't add those subs to the disc.

Edit: I broke down and started re-watching with the new .ass subs. I had forgotten what a wonderful cast this asadora has. I'm now really looking forward to re-visiting this show with the new subs!

[earth_colors]

Yay! That's really good to hear! I hope you do so~

[starlight1001]

Thank you for the new subs, now it's a good time for me to start this!! :D

[earth_colors]

Happy watching~

[madoka_ayukawa]

I'm now on Week 6. The new subs make for a wonderful viewing experience! We've been spoiled by all the impeccable Wabi-Sabi subs, not just for this series. Thank you!!

[watashiwachiaki.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[madoka_ayukawa]

I'm now well into the show (Week 18). This time I made some effort to look into the actresses histories and loved how the real careers of Koizumi Kyoko and Yakushimaru Hiroko mirrored their Amachan characters' life histories. It really shows the in depth planning they did for this show, and how even the choice of the actresses had a deeper meaning in the show. I wonder if those 2 actresses were amused by the parallels in their lives and the story?

And then I hit Ep 105 with the "Filthy Cinderella" line!! Thank you so much for the note about it. That was pure gold!!!

This drama really is a cut above the rest. Thank you again for the new subs. I'm glad I decided to re-watch it.

[ky09]

thanks so much for the subs! :D