[trans] akame/akakame past
17 Apr 2009 11:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mayoraaseiRecently I read possibly the most thorough review of Akame's relationship through their Juniors years (it was published in 2006). Unfortunately it's in Chinese ==; It's been reposted many times across different boards so I don't even know who the original source is except it's supposedly someone called "7nuan". It's well-written and very comprehensive, and I think anyone who likes Akame would enjoy it, and anyone who's confused by this phenomenon would learn something of why it exists at all.
It's incredibly long, so it's gonna take me weeks to go through it all LOL. Let's just think of it as translation exercise. I'll use some of the pictures that were given in the article but I can't be bothered posting them all up to my own account ==;
I know Akame's a touchy subject with Kame-only and Jin-only and APA (Akanishi/YamaP/Akanishi) fans. No flaming please =_=
I am translating directly from the original text, so the views do not necessarily represent mine. The first person pronouns refers to the person who wrote the original article. AK = Akame/Akakame
Even if it's just one little step
Don't let go of this hand
Before one becomes worn with weariness
Even if torn to pieces
At that moment, at that place
The bond with you that never fades
It's very difficult to truly write about AK. I don't know how to use words to really describe these two in a way that's clear and transparent and objective. So I thought about it for a long time. Every time I think of these two, my heart wrenches for no apparent reason, it really wrenches.
If we say Toma/Pi is but the dusty forgone past, Ryo/Uchi is only evident of mutual fondness and reliance, then Jin/Kame really is the sort of bond that lasts for life. In fact there's no neon-light type evidence for these two, it comes from an intuition, a type of feeling that cannot be spoken and described in plain words and yet is totally unable to be dismissed, this sort of feeling is really difficult to let go of.
Those who know Jin/Kame will have this sort of impression for the two kids: sexy Jin and "sensual" Kame (TN: There's no good equivalent for this word. It has a "fey" meaning to it, so "sexualised" to the extent of being otherworldly and demonic). But in the very, very beginning, Jin hadn't become sexy and Kame wasn't naturally "sensual". In the very, very beginning, everything was like the unclouded sky and sea, and no matter how we debate over when it first began, we don't know.
We should really begin with entering the Jimusho in 98, Akanishi Jin and Kamenashi Kazuya entered the Jimusho on the same day, it's a pretty good predestination.
Akanishi Jin had been from a young age a cute boy who possesses a smile as bright as the sun. His parents gave birth to him when he was 15 and were married on that basis. Sometimes I wonder why this guy had always been so stubborn and egocentric as well as having that streak of rare immaturity, perhaps it's because of his young parents, who - instead of bringing him up - really grew up with him?
The kid called Jin is someone who has strange ideas, sometimes bordering on illogical. His own excuse is, "When I was two I was dropped from my dad's neck and my brain has been broken since then!" The "broken-brained" Akanishi liked to act cool ever since young, and dreamed of entering the entertainment industry, so he asked his parents to put in an application for him. Unfortunately he was eliminated in the first round, and just as he was depressed and planning to return his number tag, he saw a strange old man and asked, "Where do I take this number tag?" The strange old man turned out to be the famous president of JE, and he said, "YOU can stay too!" So the young Akanishi Jin who aspired to be a star got his wish, and it's true that dumb people have dumb luck.
Kamenashi Kazuya, a name his father took from the character Uesugi Kazuya from the famous manga Touch, and Kazu really became a "Baseball Hero". (TN: Touch was about baseball. Kazuya was someone who worked very hard and did very well in baseball until he was killed in a car accident ==;) Before entering the entertainment world, Kame was an archetypal baseball kid. He had played at an international level when he was only in primary school and had never thought that he would one day stand atop a stage or in front of the screen. But he was destined to be extraordinary, no matter where he was.
In 1998, "the sister of a relative" secretly sent an application for Kame to Johnny's. His parents lied to him that he was going to watch a match, but it was in fact an audition, and he casually wore the tracksuit pants his father stuffed into his hands, and went and danced with a lot of pretty boys. He really had very little expectations, but strangely he was admitted without a hitch.
But Kame didn't like it. His dream was Koushien (TN: the hosting place of the National High School Baseball Tournaments), and so he often skipped talent classes to go play baseball. Just when he was about to give up, the president personally called him and said, "You can play baseball even if you come here!" Later, the kid acted in the fifth season of Kinpachi-sensei, and after that he was put into a group named KAT-TUN. He finally saw that he couldn't go back. Sometimes some fans like us would wonder why Kame is so hard-working, and the conclusion is: maybe, for the Koushien he lost!
We can't help but concede, Akanishi Jin is a naturally good-looking bishounen. Because his looks and personality was somewhat similar to Takizawa Hideaki, the head of juniors who at the time was already quite well-known, a lot of adults in the company jokingly called him "Little Takizawa". In contrast to the healthy, strong and radiant Jin, Kame is a kid who's very unnoticeable, he doesn't have surprising beauty, his physique is extremely slender, and his personality isn't very bright. So in a company where it's filled with pretty boys, he is a child who is easily dismissed. Sharp-tongued Nikishido Ryou once said to Kame, "You used to be so ugly it was painful!" But Jin noticed him, and went and talked to him out of his own accord. Only Jin had said to him, "Kame is very cute!" Many years later, we sometimes even wonder if the stunning Kamenashi Kazuya of today was created by Akanishi Jin.
Jin is two years older than Kame, even though they were from the same admission period he was more like the senpai. Especially because Kame always hid behind him with a frightened and bashful expression, a lot of kids in the company would laugh, "Jin, is Kame like a newly married wife in your house?" Akanishi Jin would laugh without knowing what to do, and feel embarrassed, and push Kame away when he followed again. Everyone in the company knew that amongst the little Juniors there was a BAGA Akanishi who could solve anything with his smile, but whenever someone asked, "Who's Kamenashi?" The answer would be, "The one following Akanishi!" Slowly, the senpais got used to seeing the two kids together, because the two of them were so often with each other. They won't call them separately, but rather they would directly call "AKAME!" (Akanishi+Kamenashi), and this became the combined name for the pair. (TN: I don't know how true this is though. It seems Jap fans still call them "Akakame", whereas Akame seems more like a Chinese/English fans thing)
In a magazine interview in 2004, Kame laughingly introduced himself as "I am Akanishi Kazuya." The result of this is severe, and later Toma wrote in his J-web diary, "Once I was on a bus listening to a couple of boys who didn't know Johnny's very well looking at Kame's photo and discussing what his name was, and in the end very decisively agreed on 'Kamenishi'." (TN: I remember this entry. If anyone can find the original, it's very cute XDD)
Translator's Addition: (From Oct 03 Wink Up)
Your first impression?
Kame: (of Jin) The person wearing blue jeans
Jin: (of Kame) Modest, after I got to know him better he turned out to be an idiot
What you think of each member?
Kame: (of Jin) We've played together since ages ago?
Jin: (of Kame) Idiot partner
What you want to say to each member?
Kame: (to Jin) Really do your best!
Jin: (to Kame) You...!
It's incredibly long, so it's gonna take me weeks to go through it all LOL. Let's just think of it as translation exercise. I'll use some of the pictures that were given in the article but I can't be bothered posting them all up to my own account ==;
I know Akame's a touchy subject with Kame-only and Jin-only and APA (Akanishi/YamaP/Akanishi) fans. No flaming please =_=
I am translating directly from the original text, so the views do not necessarily represent mine. The first person pronouns refers to the person who wrote the original article. AK = Akame/Akakame
Even if it's just one little step
Don't let go of this hand
Before one becomes worn with weariness
Even if torn to pieces
At that moment, at that place
The bond with you that never fades
It's very difficult to truly write about AK. I don't know how to use words to really describe these two in a way that's clear and transparent and objective. So I thought about it for a long time. Every time I think of these two, my heart wrenches for no apparent reason, it really wrenches.
If we say Toma/Pi is but the dusty forgone past, Ryo/Uchi is only evident of mutual fondness and reliance, then Jin/Kame really is the sort of bond that lasts for life. In fact there's no neon-light type evidence for these two, it comes from an intuition, a type of feeling that cannot be spoken and described in plain words and yet is totally unable to be dismissed, this sort of feeling is really difficult to let go of.
Those who know Jin/Kame will have this sort of impression for the two kids: sexy Jin and "sensual" Kame (TN: There's no good equivalent for this word. It has a "fey" meaning to it, so "sexualised" to the extent of being otherworldly and demonic). But in the very, very beginning, Jin hadn't become sexy and Kame wasn't naturally "sensual". In the very, very beginning, everything was like the unclouded sky and sea, and no matter how we debate over when it first began, we don't know.
We should really begin with entering the Jimusho in 98, Akanishi Jin and Kamenashi Kazuya entered the Jimusho on the same day, it's a pretty good predestination.
Akanishi Jin had been from a young age a cute boy who possesses a smile as bright as the sun. His parents gave birth to him when he was 15 and were married on that basis. Sometimes I wonder why this guy had always been so stubborn and egocentric as well as having that streak of rare immaturity, perhaps it's because of his young parents, who - instead of bringing him up - really grew up with him?
The kid called Jin is someone who has strange ideas, sometimes bordering on illogical. His own excuse is, "When I was two I was dropped from my dad's neck and my brain has been broken since then!" The "broken-brained" Akanishi liked to act cool ever since young, and dreamed of entering the entertainment industry, so he asked his parents to put in an application for him. Unfortunately he was eliminated in the first round, and just as he was depressed and planning to return his number tag, he saw a strange old man and asked, "Where do I take this number tag?" The strange old man turned out to be the famous president of JE, and he said, "YOU can stay too!" So the young Akanishi Jin who aspired to be a star got his wish, and it's true that dumb people have dumb luck.
Kamenashi Kazuya, a name his father took from the character Uesugi Kazuya from the famous manga Touch, and Kazu really became a "Baseball Hero". (TN: Touch was about baseball. Kazuya was someone who worked very hard and did very well in baseball until he was killed in a car accident ==;) Before entering the entertainment world, Kame was an archetypal baseball kid. He had played at an international level when he was only in primary school and had never thought that he would one day stand atop a stage or in front of the screen. But he was destined to be extraordinary, no matter where he was.
In 1998, "the sister of a relative" secretly sent an application for Kame to Johnny's. His parents lied to him that he was going to watch a match, but it was in fact an audition, and he casually wore the tracksuit pants his father stuffed into his hands, and went and danced with a lot of pretty boys. He really had very little expectations, but strangely he was admitted without a hitch.
But Kame didn't like it. His dream was Koushien (TN: the hosting place of the National High School Baseball Tournaments), and so he often skipped talent classes to go play baseball. Just when he was about to give up, the president personally called him and said, "You can play baseball even if you come here!" Later, the kid acted in the fifth season of Kinpachi-sensei, and after that he was put into a group named KAT-TUN. He finally saw that he couldn't go back. Sometimes some fans like us would wonder why Kame is so hard-working, and the conclusion is: maybe, for the Koushien he lost!
I can remember very well the first time I met Kame, it was at the auditions for the company, he was wearing a blue tracksuit, and I was wearing jeans... - Akanishi Jin [TN: See addition at end of post]
It was Jin who came and talked to me first, at the time I thought Jin looked a lot like Takizawa - Kamenashi Kazuya
We can't help but concede, Akanishi Jin is a naturally good-looking bishounen. Because his looks and personality was somewhat similar to Takizawa Hideaki, the head of juniors who at the time was already quite well-known, a lot of adults in the company jokingly called him "Little Takizawa". In contrast to the healthy, strong and radiant Jin, Kame is a kid who's very unnoticeable, he doesn't have surprising beauty, his physique is extremely slender, and his personality isn't very bright. So in a company where it's filled with pretty boys, he is a child who is easily dismissed. Sharp-tongued Nikishido Ryou once said to Kame, "You used to be so ugly it was painful!" But Jin noticed him, and went and talked to him out of his own accord. Only Jin had said to him, "Kame is very cute!" Many years later, we sometimes even wonder if the stunning Kamenashi Kazuya of today was created by Akanishi Jin.
Jin is two years older than Kame, even though they were from the same admission period he was more like the senpai. Especially because Kame always hid behind him with a frightened and bashful expression, a lot of kids in the company would laugh, "Jin, is Kame like a newly married wife in your house?" Akanishi Jin would laugh without knowing what to do, and feel embarrassed, and push Kame away when he followed again. Everyone in the company knew that amongst the little Juniors there was a BAGA Akanishi who could solve anything with his smile, but whenever someone asked, "Who's Kamenashi?" The answer would be, "The one following Akanishi!" Slowly, the senpais got used to seeing the two kids together, because the two of them were so often with each other. They won't call them separately, but rather they would directly call "AKAME!" (Akanishi+Kamenashi), and this became the combined name for the pair. (TN: I don't know how true this is though. It seems Jap fans still call them "Akakame", whereas Akame seems more like a Chinese/English fans thing)
In a magazine interview in 2004, Kame laughingly introduced himself as "I am Akanishi Kazuya." The result of this is severe, and later Toma wrote in his J-web diary, "Once I was on a bus listening to a couple of boys who didn't know Johnny's very well looking at Kame's photo and discussing what his name was, and in the end very decisively agreed on 'Kamenishi'." (TN: I remember this entry. If anyone can find the original, it's very cute XDD)
Translator's Addition: (From Oct 03 Wink Up)
Your first impression?
Kame: (of Jin) The person wearing blue jeans
Jin: (of Kame) Modest, after I got to know him better he turned out to be an idiot
What you think of each member?
Kame: (of Jin) We've played together since ages ago?
Jin: (of Kame) Idiot partner
What you want to say to each member?
Kame: (to Jin) Really do your best!
Jin: (to Kame) You...!
To be continued.......
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no subject
Date: 2009-04-18 12:15 pm (UTC)it's so ramantic ^^
it make me smile while reading
Thank you so much
no subject
Date: 2009-06-16 06:13 pm (UTC)I wonde why I've neve seen it before.
And it definitely made me very happy!!!
no subject
Date: 2009-12-14 01:42 am (UTC)this article's so touched :)
...
really wanna cry...
thank u so much for translating this wonderful article ^^
no subject
Date: 2010-08-10 09:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-26 03:27 am (UTC)akakame are sooooo adorable....
i always love akakame until now...it has been 4 years already...
because i think they're too cute when they're being together!!^^