The opening to the anime 'Popotan' (sorry, but I don't know the title of the opening theme) is something that would almost certainly give Doug a power... the question, of course, being *WHAT* that power is. Honestly, it would probably depend on the circumstances under which Doug first heard the song. More on that later -- first, the lyrics.
Ai, Ai, Ai, I love you,
Mai, Mai, Mai, My darling,
Mii, Mii, Mii, Help me,
Popotan, popotan, popotan,
Moshimo genki wo nakushite tohou ni kureta toki ni wa,
popotan no koe wo kikuno.
Souyo anata ga sunao ni natte kokoro wo hirakeba,
popotan wa oshiete kureru.
Ano hito ga kuru konai.
Watashi wo suki kirai.
Kono koi wa uso honto.
Donna koto mo shitteruno.
Moudame popopo, moudame popopo.
Wakatterukedo yamerarenaino.
Mou muri popopo, mou muri popopo.
Yume no yume demo akiramenaide,
Popotan.
Note that this is the short version -- while I have the lyrics for the long version, as well as the long version itself, I *DON'T* have a translation for it. Anyway, the English translation, partially taken from a fansub and partially done by myself, is as follows (stars indicate points in the translation that require comments.):
Ai, Ai, Ai, I love you,
Mai, Mai, Mai, My darling,
Mii, Mii, Mii, Help me*,
Popotan*, Popotan, Popotan,
When you're feeling down and lost,
Listen to the voices of the dandelions*.
That's right; if be yourself and open your heart,
the dandelions* will tell you.
He* will come, won't come,
(he) likes me, hates me,
This love is real, is fake,
They* know everything.
I can't stand it, popopo, I can't stand it, popopo,
I know I shouldn't, but I can't stop myself.
No more, popopo, no more, popopo.
Even if it's a dream of a dream, don't give up,
Popotan.
While my first thought was that this song would give Doug Ai's power from the anime in question (she can speak to dandelions; while they're often quite knowledgeable about certain matters, they tend to gossip a lot, which means that it often takes her quite a bit of conversation to get anything *USEFUL*), something that is quite appropriate, the idea has a few flaws, which should become apparent when I get to the translation notes.
In the opening lines, I was left with something of a translation dillema: they're puns on the names of the three sisters in the anime: Ai, Mai, and Mii. Moreover, the video features shots of the girls in question to accompany their lines. Hence, I decided that leaving the names intact was a better option than simply interpreting them as repeated English words.
Secondly, the name of the anime itself has meaning within the song. Where it does, I translated it; otherwise, I left it as is. That being said, the name's meaning leads into the main difficulty with the power I suggested. The anime's name, 'popotan', comes from the Japanese word for 'dandelion', 'tanpopo'. The main characters in the show, Ai, Mai, and Mii, insist, however, on reversing the characters and saying it 'popotan'. If Doug first heard this song outside of the context of the anime, though, he wouldn't neccessarily know that, and the song uses the same odd term for dandelions.
Next, 'he' one of the lines is something of a mistranslation -- 'he' is really 'ano hito' or 'that person', but from context and the video, it's pretty obvious that 'that person' is male, and the expression's not nearly as awkward in Japanese as the literal translation is in English.
Finally, 'they' on another of the lines is translated in the singular by the fansub I used for portions of the translation, and happens to be on one of the lines I couldn't translate myself, but as Japanese doesn't have a distinction between singular and plural, and the line was referring to dandelions, I feel fairly confident in tweaking that line to match in number.-------------------
I dove through the hailstorm of plasma and laser bolts, ignoring the instantly regenerating wounds I took from the occasional projectile, and focused on my target. Using my flame to sear through the reinforced window of Quincy's office, I plunged into the surprised executive's domain like a guided missile that, after using a small amount of flame to insure that the office's inhabitant wasn't an android double, promptly discharged its payload.
"WEDGIE!!"
![[Image: Aleh.jpg]](http://www.animecubed.com/billy/pics/sigs/Aleh.jpg)
Ai, Ai, Ai, I love you,
Mai, Mai, Mai, My darling,
Mii, Mii, Mii, Help me,
Popotan, popotan, popotan,
Moshimo genki wo nakushite tohou ni kureta toki ni wa,
popotan no koe wo kikuno.
Souyo anata ga sunao ni natte kokoro wo hirakeba,
popotan wa oshiete kureru.
Ano hito ga kuru konai.
Watashi wo suki kirai.
Kono koi wa uso honto.
Donna koto mo shitteruno.
Moudame popopo, moudame popopo.
Wakatterukedo yamerarenaino.
Mou muri popopo, mou muri popopo.
Yume no yume demo akiramenaide,
Popotan.
Note that this is the short version -- while I have the lyrics for the long version, as well as the long version itself, I *DON'T* have a translation for it. Anyway, the English translation, partially taken from a fansub and partially done by myself, is as follows (stars indicate points in the translation that require comments.):
Ai, Ai, Ai, I love you,
Mai, Mai, Mai, My darling,
Mii, Mii, Mii, Help me*,
Popotan*, Popotan, Popotan,
When you're feeling down and lost,
Listen to the voices of the dandelions*.
That's right; if be yourself and open your heart,
the dandelions* will tell you.
He* will come, won't come,
(he) likes me, hates me,
This love is real, is fake,
They* know everything.
I can't stand it, popopo, I can't stand it, popopo,
I know I shouldn't, but I can't stop myself.
No more, popopo, no more, popopo.
Even if it's a dream of a dream, don't give up,
Popotan.
While my first thought was that this song would give Doug Ai's power from the anime in question (she can speak to dandelions; while they're often quite knowledgeable about certain matters, they tend to gossip a lot, which means that it often takes her quite a bit of conversation to get anything *USEFUL*), something that is quite appropriate, the idea has a few flaws, which should become apparent when I get to the translation notes.
In the opening lines, I was left with something of a translation dillema: they're puns on the names of the three sisters in the anime: Ai, Mai, and Mii. Moreover, the video features shots of the girls in question to accompany their lines. Hence, I decided that leaving the names intact was a better option than simply interpreting them as repeated English words.
Secondly, the name of the anime itself has meaning within the song. Where it does, I translated it; otherwise, I left it as is. That being said, the name's meaning leads into the main difficulty with the power I suggested. The anime's name, 'popotan', comes from the Japanese word for 'dandelion', 'tanpopo'. The main characters in the show, Ai, Mai, and Mii, insist, however, on reversing the characters and saying it 'popotan'. If Doug first heard this song outside of the context of the anime, though, he wouldn't neccessarily know that, and the song uses the same odd term for dandelions.
Next, 'he' one of the lines is something of a mistranslation -- 'he' is really 'ano hito' or 'that person', but from context and the video, it's pretty obvious that 'that person' is male, and the expression's not nearly as awkward in Japanese as the literal translation is in English.
Finally, 'they' on another of the lines is translated in the singular by the fansub I used for portions of the translation, and happens to be on one of the lines I couldn't translate myself, but as Japanese doesn't have a distinction between singular and plural, and the line was referring to dandelions, I feel fairly confident in tweaking that line to match in number.-------------------
I dove through the hailstorm of plasma and laser bolts, ignoring the instantly regenerating wounds I took from the occasional projectile, and focused on my target. Using my flame to sear through the reinforced window of Quincy's office, I plunged into the surprised executive's domain like a guided missile that, after using a small amount of flame to insure that the office's inhabitant wasn't an android double, promptly discharged its payload.
"WEDGIE!!"
