Foreword from the Translator
Reading this is optional, but it includes information about my prior translation experience, why I wanted to translate this song, and some information and Japanese first-person pronouns.
About the Translator
diaLOG is a companion story to the concept album of the same name written by the Vocaloid producer r-906, also known as arukuremu. He's known mostly for his drum 'n bass and house influenced musical style in works like "Mikazuki Step" and two of the songs for this album "Catchy ?!" And "All I Can See Is You".
The second song released in the concept album, "All I Can See Is You" fascinated me since its release. I desperately wanted to know more about the story of the girl and her mysterious friend who seemed to have multiple personalities. As an individual with DID, I felt very touched by the song "All I Can See is You" because of how relevant it felt to my personal life and experiences with DID.
Eventually I finally worked up the courage to release this translation, even if it needs some work done still. This translation is not-for-profit and purely for entertainment purposes, so I strongly recommend buying the novel from r906's Pixiv Booth shop if you have 500 JPY to spare.
I do not have a proofreader,so I would appreciate this being taken with a grain of salt as I am relying heavily on Japanese dictionaries and grammatical guides to assist this translation. Most of my previous translation work was for video games and thus, mostly dialogue; this is my first prose translation.
I consider this translation to be a living document, some of the text may be updated or altered without notice.
No AI was used in this translation. Please do not train AI using this translation, and please do not redistribute or translate this work into another language without my express permission.
If you notice a typo, a translation error, or have a question about the original text, you can get in touch with me at my email: eudaemon.x at gmail dot com or via alterspring.
About the Translation
I recommend watching the songs Catchy ?! And All I Can See Is You if you have not done so yet as they are directly related to this story.
The main character of this novella is called "Watashi-chan" by r-906 and the artist Pensil. "Watashi" is a Japanese first person pronoun and considered the most neutral/polite/"normal" option. However, Watashi-chan inhabits multiple different realities, so each version of themself uses a different pronoun.
To explain the different pronouns:
- 僕 - Read as boku, a masculine pronoun. This one is written in kanji, which makes it sound more formal.
- アタシ - Read as atashi, a casual feminine pronoun. It is written in katakana, which is usually only reserved for loanwords or emphasis. The katakana makes it feel very flashy, as if it's drawing attention to itself.
- ぼく- Read as boku, a masculine pronoun. Because it's written in hiragana, it has a softer and more childish tone to it.
- わたし - Read as watashi, a neutral/polite pronoun. The hiragana makes this one sound friendly and soft as well. The prologue is narrated by this version.
- 私 - Read as watashi or watakushi depending on the context. The kanji makes it feel more formal/polite. Personally I interpret the reading as watakushi which is the highest politeness, especially since the personality this is associated with is very cold.
The main character's best friend, the Girl, uses あたし when speaking to her friend, which is read as atashi. As mentioned before, this is a feminine pronoun, but the Girl's is rendered in hiragana which comes off as more casual and "normal". When writing in her notes, she uses 私 (watashi) which as mentioned before, is a more formal/polite register.
I also recommend highlighting any blacked out text since there is usually something hidden underneath.