Konpeki no Kantai — Episode 03

This document lists translation issues found in the English subtitle file, organized by line number. The English subs appear to have been transcribed by ear from Japanese audio, which led to a number of mishearings, especially for proper nouns (place names, characters, ship/aircraft names) and Japanese military terminology.

Sources cross-checked: Japanese Wikipedia main page for Konpeki no Kantai, the series terminology glossary (艦隊シリーズの用語集), individual articles on ships/aircraft (especially 特潜伊601 富嶽号, 潜伊500型, 蒼莱), the canonical Baka-Tsuki English translation of Volume 1 of Aramaki Yoshio's original novel (Prologue and Chapters 1–6), and Apple TV Japan episode synopsis.

For each entry: line number from the .ass file (numbering matches the source you provided), original English, problem, and suggested fix.

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Errors and Mishearings

L34 — 0:00:24.51

Original: "While pondering on his past life's history, on 4th of December, Japan Time 12:00PM, 1941," Issues:

• Date is wrong: should be 8th of December, not 4th. December 8 (Japan time) is when Japan entered the war, corresponding to December 7 (Hawaii time) — the Pearl Harbor attack. Translator likely misheard 八 (eight) as 四 (four).
• Time is wrong: 12:00 PM means noon, but the line should be 12:00 AM (midnight). Japanese audio almost certainly says 「午前零時」 (gozen reiji = midnight). The declaration of war was at midnight December 8.

Suggested: "…on 8th of December, 12:00 AM Japan Time, 1941, …"

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L105 — 0:07:32.56

Original: "What? The XV30 is complete?" Issue: "XV30" doesn't exist in the source. The actual name is Shingen (信玄) — the Shingen-type electronic computer (信玄型電算機), an ENIAC-class machine. The Apple TV synopsis for the next episode explicitly mentions 「信玄型電算機」 being used to plan Operation Tengen. Translator misheard 「シンゲン」 ("Shin-gen") as "XV30" (perhaps "X-V-three-oh" sounded similar).

Suggested: "What? The Shingen is complete?"

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L114 — 0:08:06.27

Original: "our Stars and Stripes operation is slowly undergoing completion." Issue: Correct in meaning, but should be capitalized as a proper noun. This is Operation Stars and Stripes (星条旗作戦 Seijōki Sakusen), the US Navy's major counter-offensive plan to bomb Japan in retaliation for Pearl Harbor.

Suggested: "…our Operation Stars and Stripes is slowly nearing completion."

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L127 — 0:09:00.93

Original: "It's Fujitake." Issue: Major character-name error. This is not a separate character — it's Maebara himself speaking under his artist pseudonym, Fugaku Tarō (富嶽太郎). The name is a pun on his submarine's name 富嶽 (Fugaku) — he goes incognito as "the painter Fugaku Tarō" when meeting Otaka publicly. The translator misheard 「フガク」 (Fugaku) as "Fujitake".

Suggested: "It's Fugaku."

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L132 — 0:09:23.40

Original: "Offer salutations!" Issue: Parade-ground command. Japanese 敬礼 (keirei) is the standard military salute command. "Offer salutations" is overly literal and unusual in English military usage.

Suggested: "Salute!" or "Attention!"

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L133 — 0:09:31.89

Original: "Draw!" Issue: The Japanese command following 敬礼 is 直れ (naore), meaning "return to attention" or "as you were" — i.e., stand down from the salute. This is NOT "draw" (which in English military context means draw a weapon).

Suggested: "At ease!" or "As you were!"

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L149–L151 — 0:10:18.10 to 0:10:24.10

Original: "The President is over there." / "President, sir, it has been a long time." / "Yes." Issue: The "President" here is Admiral Takano, not Otaka. The scene is Maebara arriving back in Japan: he's met at the airbase by Hyūga-kun (Takano's adjutant), who directs him to where Takano is waiting ("The President is over there"). Maebara then greets Takano with "President, sir, it has been a long time."

The Japanese title being rendered as "President" here is most likely 「総長」 (Sōchō = "Chief / Head") — referring to Takano's post as Chief of the Naval General Staff (軍令部総長 Gunreibu Sōchō), which he assumed after the coup d'état. This is confirmed by Aramaki Yoshio's novel (Volume 1, Chapter 2): «As President of the Navy General Staff, Takano Isoroku was inaugurated and given supreme command.»

Note that the Baka-Tsuki English translation of the novel itself also renders 軍令部総長 as "President of the Navy General Staff" — this is a long-standing translation convention, not unique to the anime subber. The Japanese 総 (sō, "general / chief") family of titles is broad and ambiguous in English:

Note that only the last of these, 大統領, is a true national "President" in the English sense. When the subs use "President" for any of the first three, the audience is likely to assume a head-of-state title, which is misleading. In this episode, "President" is used for two completely different titles held by two different characters:

• L149–L151 addresses Takano, whose post-coup title is 軍令部総長 (Chief of Naval General Staff = Sōchō). Cleaner English: Admiral / Chief.
• L605, L637 address Otaka, who is 内閣総理大臣 (Prime Minister of Japan = Sōri Daijin). Cleaner English: Prime Minister.
• L113 ("Mr. President, sir") addresses the actual US President (Roosevelt) = Daitōryō. This one is correct as-is.

Suggested: "The Admiral is over there." / "Admiral, sir, it has been a long time." / "Yes."

(Alternatively, "Chief of Staff, sir," if a more literal rendering of 総長 is desired. "Admiral" works universally because Takano is simultaneously addressed by his unambiguous naval rank.)

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L152 — 0:10:25.54

Original: "We will now head to the main office to meet with the Prime Minister." Issue: This line is spoken by Takano to Maebara, not by Otaka. Takano has come to collect Maebara from the airbase, and now they will travel together by car to meet Otaka (the Prime Minister) at his official residence. The line is correct in meaning, but the framing in the previous lines (the mis-translated "President" referring to Takano) made it seem like a contradiction. With the L149–L151 fix applied, this line reads correctly.

Suggested: Keep as-is. The dialogue flow now is: Hyūga directs Maebara to Takano → Maebara greets Takano → Takano says "now we'll head over to meet the Prime Minister [Otaka]." The two then travel by car to Otaka's residence (which is where the L154 "we're being followed" and L156–L162 "painter disguise" exchange takes place).

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L605, L637 — 0:38:43.87, 0:41:15.36

Original: "President!" / "President, it is dangerous to be out." Issue: These two later scenes refer to Otaka, who is the Prime Minister of Japan (内閣総理大臣 Naikaku Sōri Daijin) at this point in the story. Otaka is established as Prime Minister immediately after the coup d'état of 1 December Shōwa 16 (Baka-Tsuki, Volume 1 Chapter 2: «the Prime Minister named to lead the new cabinet, Ootaka Yasaburou, made his moves in rapid succession.»). The translator rendered 総理 (Sōri) as "President" — see the title-family table at L149–L151 above for why this happens. The correct English term for this office is Prime Minister.

Suggested: "Prime Minister!" / "Prime Minister, it's dangerous to be out."

Note: L113 ("Mr. President, sir,") IS correct — that scene is in the US White House and refers to the actual US President (Roosevelt), 大統領.

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L184, L186, L194 — repeated "five-week invasion"

Original: "The Army has proposed a five-week invasion progression." / "a large scale five-week invasion is not favorable." / "even if it means partaking in a five-week invasion," Issue: This should be "five-phase operation" (五段作戦 Go-dan sakusen), not "five-week". The translator confused 段 (dan = phase/stage) with 週 (shū = week). The operation is staged in five PHASES, not five weeks. The Japanese terminology series glossary confirms 五段作戦 as the canonical term.

Suggested: "five-phase operation" or "five-stage invasion"

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L310 — 0:20:04.96

Original: "Limited-Area Fighter Plane Sourai{\i1}(lit. Blue Sky)" Issues:

• "Limited-Area Fighter Plane" is the literal translation of 局地戦闘機 (kyokuchi sentōki). In standard English aviation terminology this is an interceptor or point-defense fighter or area-defense fighter.
• The aircraft name is Sōrai (蒼莱) — proper romanization with macron. "Blue Sky" is not quite literal: 蒼莱 actually means "azure/dark-blue" + 莱 (a kind of plant, used poetically for "place"/"land"). Common rendering: "Azure Sky" or just leave as Sōrai.

Suggested: "Interceptor Fighter — Sōrai (蒼莱)"

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L311 — 0:20:08.78

Original: "Limited-Area Fighter Plane\N'Sourai'" Same issue as L310. Should be "Interceptor — Sōrai".

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L322 — 0:20:47.20

Original: "It is the reincarnation of the mysterious Naval Fleet 18's Shinden." Issue: "Naval Fleet 18" is a complete mistranslation. The actual term is 試作十八式局地戦闘機『震電』 ("Experimental Type 18 Local Fighter Shinden"). 十八式 (Jūhachi-shiki) = Type 18, referring to the experimental year designation in the Japanese Navy's aircraft naming system. The English translator interpreted 十八 ("18") as a fleet number, which is wrong.

The Shinden (震電) was a real prototype Japanese WWII pusher-canard fighter (J7W) that never saw combat. In Konpeki it's the spiritual predecessor of the Sōrai.

Suggested: "It is the reincarnation of the legendary Experimental Type-18 Naval Interceptor — the Shinden."

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L323 — 0:20:52.05

Original: "The engine consists of a low-class throwaway turbine, with running on a type Ume activation system." Issue: This is heavily garbled. According to Japanese Wikipedia, the Sōrai engine is 東式梅型発動機 (排気タービン過給型) — a "Tōshiki Ume-type engine (turbocharged variant)". Breakdown:

• 東式 (Tōshiki) = "Tō-type" — likely derived from 東野 (Higashino, the designer's surname, abbreviated to 東 "Tō").
• 梅型 (Ume-gata) = "Plum model" / Model Ume. "Ume" is the model designation, not an "activation system".
• 排気タービン過給 = exhaust-turbine supercharging (turbocharger).
• This is a piston aircraft engine with turbo-supercharger, NOT a "throwaway turbine" (which makes no sense — turbines aren't throwaway).

Suggested: "The engine is a Tōshiki Ume-type piston engine with exhaust-turbine supercharger."

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L324 — 0:20:56.44

Original: "Double reversal type 8 sheets propeller." Issue: Garbled aviation terminology. Japanese: 二重反転式8枚プロペラ.

• 二重反転 (nijū hanten) = contra-rotating (NOT "double reversal")
• 8枚 (hachi-mai) = 8 blades (NOT "8 sheets" — 枚 is the counter for flat/thin objects, but for propellers the English is "blades")

Suggested: "8-blade contra-rotating coaxial propeller." (For accuracy, the Sōrai uses a pusher coaxial propeller arrangement inherited from the Shinden.)

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L357, L368, L369, L372 — "Empathetic Police"

Original: "It's the Empathetic Police! The Empathetic Police are here!" etc. Issue: This is an in-universe organization established by PM Otaka to maintain civil order, suppress the army's tendencies toward violence and corruption, and protect civilians. The Japanese is most likely 共感警察 (Kyōkan Keisatsu) or a similar coinage — neither term is in standard real-world Japanese. "Empathetic Police" is literal but awkward.

Suggested: Consider "Civic Police" or "Sympathetic Police" for better English flow. Alternatively, "Empathetic Police" can stay if the goal is to preserve the unusual feel of the original.

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L432, L434, L476 — repeated "Thunder King"

Original: "Maebara switched to a Thunder King on Truck Island." / "the Thunder King safely landed…" / "Fight Commander Ootake's Thunder King units on air…" Issue: "Thunder King" is a literal/inventive translation of an aircraft name. The actual name is Raiyō (雷洋), with 雷 = thunder, 洋 = ocean/sea. So a literal translation would be "Thunder Sea" — but this is a PROPER NAME and should not be translated. The Raiyō is the special surface attack aircraft carried by I-601 Fugaku (the flagship).

Suggested: "Maebara switched to a Raiyō on Truk Island." / "the Raiyō safely landed…" / "Flight Commander Ootake's Raiyō units…"

Also note: L332 has "Truck island" — should be Truk (the Caroline Islands atoll, IJN's major base), not "Truck".

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L437 — 0:28:21.06

Original: "approximately 600 miles north of Shinjuan, enemy aircraft carriers" Issue: "Shinjuan" is a mishearing of "Shinjuwan" (真珠湾), the Japanese name for Pearl Harbor. Literally 真珠 (shinju = pearl) + 湾 (wan = harbor/bay). The English translator transliterated the Japanese reading as if it were a separate place name.

Suggested: "approximately 600 miles north of Pearl Harbor, enemy aircraft carriers…"

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L493 — 0:31:38.68

Original: "Enemy found. Type Kansai-Douglas SDD." Issue: "Kansai" is a mishearing of 艦載 (kansai), meaning "carrier-based" (i.e., carrier-borne aircraft). 艦載機 = carrier-based aircraft. "Kansai" in romanization happens to coincidentally match the Kansai region of Japan, but here it's the military adjective.

"SDD" should be "SBD" — the Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber, a real WWII US Navy carrier-based aircraft.

Suggested: "Enemy spotted. Carrier-based Douglas SBD."

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L549 — 0:34:51.48

Original: "700 km east of Sakkanto Islands" Issue: "Sakkanto" is a mishearing of "Shikotan-tō (色丹島)" — Shikotan Island, one of the southern Kuril Islands. Geographically, 700 km east of Shikotan places you well into the North Pacific, consistent with the operation against Regan's fleet at Dutch Harbor.

Suggested: "700 km east of Shikotan Island"

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L554 — 0:35:29.18

Original: "The enemy ship I-18000 snuck in through Bering Sea." Issue: "I-18000" is impossible — Japanese submarines don't have such hull numbers, and this is referring to an enemy ship anyway. Most likely this is a description by tonnage: "an 18,000-ton-class enemy ship" or "the 18,000-tonner". The Japanese might have been 「敵の一万八千トン級が…」 or similar. Without the audio, exact phrasing is uncertain.

Suggested: "The 18,000-ton-class enemy ship snuck in through the Bering Sea." (Tentative — requires audio verification.)

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L557 — 0:35:42.76

Original: "Oi, Private Shinagawa." Issue: Major rank error. Shinagawa Yajirō (品川弥治郎) is NOT a Private — that's the lowest rank in the army. According to the Konpeki Japanese Wikipedia, Shinagawa is the First Officer (先任士官) of I-601 Fugaku, with the rank of Lieutenant Commander (海軍中佐). The translator may have rendered a Japanese term like 「品川くん」 (Shinagawa-kun) as "Private", or invented the rank entirely.

Suggested: "Oi, Shinagawa." or "Hey there, Shinagawa." (Drop the rank — the speaker, Maebara, is his commander and uses familiar address.)

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L596 — 0:38:12.22

Original: "is Major General Donald D. Regan." Issue: Rank error. Regan is 米海軍少将 = Rear Admiral, US Navy. "Major General" is a US Army rank; the Navy equivalent of "Major General" (one star above Captain) is Rear Admiral (Lower Half) in modern usage, or simply Rear Admiral. The English translator confused the two service branches.

Also, the character's full name per Konpeki Japanese Wiki is Donald "Duck" Regan (ドナルド・ダック・リーガン) — yes, this is a deliberate Donald Duck pun on Ronald Reagan. The middle initial "D" here likely represents "Duck", not a middle name initial.

Suggested: "is Rear Admiral Donald 'Duck' Regan."

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L609, L610 — 0:38:51.02, 0:38:54.49

Original: "No. The aircrafts took off from Yeosu, China." / "Yeosu?" Issue: "Yeosu" is the Korean romanization of the Chinese characters 麗水. The same characters in Mandarin Chinese are romanized as Lìshuǐ (Lishui), a real city in Zhejiang Province, China. In Konpeki, the B-30 bombers launch from Lishui, China (麗水市) — confirmed by the Japanese Wikipedia article on the Sōrai. The translator either heard 「リスイ」 incorrectly or used Korean romanization for a Chinese place.

Note: in real history, the Doolittle Raid bombers crashed/landed in Quzhou (衢州), not Lishui. Konpeki uses a different location.

Suggested: "No. The aircraft took off from Lishui, China." / "Lishui?"

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L619 — 0:39:33.05

Original: "Yes, sir! Type Rei." Issue: "Type Rei" is a literal Japanese-character-by-character translation of 零式 (Rei-shiki) — but this is the famous Mitsubishi A6M Zero, known in English universally as the Zero or Zero fighter or Type 0 carrier fighter. "Rei" is just the on-yomi of 零 (zero); the standard English name should be used.

Suggested: "Yes, sir! The Zero fighter." or "Yes, sir! Type 0 fighters."

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L632 — 0:40:15.45

Original: "It was only kept here in this faraway farm." Issue: "Faraway farm" is odd — this refers to Tsuchiura Air Base (土浦航空基地), where the Sōrai squadron is stationed. The Japanese is likely 「辺鄙な土地」 (henpi na tochi = "remote/secluded place") or similar. "Farm" is a strange word choice for a military air base.

Suggested: "It was only kept here at this remote outpost." or "It was only stationed at this faraway airfield."

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L691 — 0:45:00.22

Original: "The enemy US's new B-30 type heavy artillery and their ambitions" Issue: "Heavy artillery" is a mistranslation of 重爆撃機 (jūbakugekiki) = "heavy bombers". 重 = heavy; 爆撃機 = bomber aircraft. The B-30 is a strategic bomber, not artillery. The translator translated only part of the compound and got the wrong root word.

Suggested: "The enemy US's new B-30 heavy bombers and their ambitions"

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L693 — 0:45:09.65

Original: "as they launch a fleet, led by Admiral Lee Nan" Issue: "Admiral Lee Nan" is the same character as "Major General Regan" in L596 — Rear Admiral Donald "Duck" Regan. The translator misheard 「リーガン」 (Riigan = Regan) as "Lee Nan" in the closing narration. Two completely different mishearings of the same name in the same episode! The fleet's flagship is the carrier "Superior" (スペリオル) per the Japanese terminology glossary.

Suggested: "as they launch a fleet, led by Rear Admiral Regan,"

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Minor / Style Observations

• L80 "Kaidai Type submarines" — correct. 海大型 (Kaidai-gata) is a real historical class of IJN long-range submarines. No fix needed.
• L111-112 "the 60,000 ton project… exceptionally large type aircraft carrier" — clunky but technically accurate. Better: "the 60,000-ton super-large aircraft carrier project, which has been under construction for some time, has been deployed to the North Pacific operations."
• L189-191 Translation flows awkwardly. The narration line about Japan being stuck in a "quagmire" because of resource depletion before the Japan-US war is grammatically broken (comma after "U.S.A,"). Suggested rewrite: "The New Japanese Empire's invasion has already stalled in a quagmire, due to the heavy resource consumption that began even before war with the U.S.A."
• L215 "There is plenty." — Unclear in context. Otaka is responding to a concern that withdrawing from the Chinese continent would make Japan a target for Chinese forces. The line doesn't fit. The Japanese may have been something like 「そうもないさ」 ("Not necessarily") or 「もう十分だ」 ("That's enough"). Worth re-checking against audio.
• L322 (continued) The Shinden context: in the Konpeki universe, the Sōrai is positioned as the spiritual successor to the real-world Kyūshū J7W Shinden — a tail-less canard pusher-prop interceptor prototype the Japanese Navy developed at the end of WWII. The 試作十八式局戦 designation refers to its experimental Type-18 classification (Shōwa 18 = 1943, the year the design was finalized in reality).

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Recurring patterns to watch for

1. Japanese proper nouns transliterated as if they were English/Korean names (Shinjuan→Pearl Harbor, Yeosu→Lishui, Sakkanto→Shikotan, Fujitake→Fugaku, Lee Nan→Regan)
2. Rank confusion between Navy and Army equivalents (Rear Admiral ↔ Major General; non-existent "Private" for a senior officer)
3. Japanese aircraft/ship names translated literally instead of transliterated (Thunder King→Raiyō, Type Rei→Zero)
4. Numerical-prefix confusion in Japanese model designations (Type 18→"Naval Fleet 18", 五段→"five-week")
5. Military jargon mistranslated piece-by-piece (艦載=carrier-based, mistaken for "Kansai" region; 二重反転=contra-rotating, mistaken for "double reversal")
6. Office vs role confusion (Otaka is PM, repeatedly rendered as "President")
7. Compound terms split incorrectly (重爆撃機 = heavy bomber, rendered as "heavy artillery")

These patterns suggest the translator was working largely by ear without a Japanese-language reference text and without cross-checking proper nouns against the Konpeki source materials. A quick lookup against the Konpeki Japanese Wikipedia terminology glossary (艦隊シリーズの用語集) and the Baka-Tsuki English translation of Aramaki Yoshio's original novels would catch most of these systematically.