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In このボクのように完ペキな仙人仕様にはまだ成れなかったんだよ彼も！
I thought that it meant "Just like me, not even he could attain the perfect sage method!"

However the official translation is
"He couldn't become the perfect sage that I have become!"

My understanding or the sentence is that 彼も and このボクのように implies that both persons couldn't attain 完ペキな仙人. Am I correct or is the official translation correct? And why?

Here's a picture for more context, the sequence is 1-2-3 from left to right:

More Context

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The official translation is probably better, because apparently this creature is claiming to be a "perfect sage" himself. (But it depends on the story.)

Probably you're misunderstanding what この僕のように modifies. You're treating この僕のように as something like a sentence adverb, but this この僕のように actually only modifies the na-adjective right after it, 完ペキ. この僕のように完璧な仙人 forms a noun phrase that just means "sage who is as perfect as me" or "perfect sage like me".

If there were a comma after この僕のように, then it's possible to interpret it as a sentence adverb.

  • 彼のように私は英語を話せない。
    I can't speak English like him. = My English is not as good as his.
  • 彼のように、私は英語を話せない。 (sounds a bit unnatural)
    Just like him, I can't speak English (either).

EDIT: 仕様 here is not a synonym for 仕方（しかた, a way of doing） but a different word meaning "spec". As a suffix, ～仕様 means something like "-grade", "-spec", "-ready", etc (eg 冬仕様 = winter-grade). So strictly speaking, this sentence is talking not about actually becoming a sage but about the "readiness" to become a sage: "He could not be as 'perfect-sage-ready' as me ..." or "His body was not prepared for becoming a perfect sage ..." The official translation seems to have simplified this part.

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  • In the chat, @Flaw suggested that the 仕様 might change the meaning to something like "the method to become a perfect sage". What do you think about that? – Seelentau Oct 7 '16 at 1:43
  • @Seelentau "この僕のように完璧な仙人仕様" sounds to me like "perfect-like-me sage-form", and I don't think 仕様 changes the way この僕のように should be interpreted. BTW what's the story? Does this snake-like creature say that he's a perfect 仙人, or that he's one of those who failed to become a good 仙人? – naruto Oct 7 '16 at 1:48
  • Why isn't the noun-phrase この僕のような完璧な仙人 instead? ~に made me search for a verb to link it to. – Flaw♦ Oct 7 '16 at 8:49
  • Hm. Although I admit I find two な used in succession a little strange. In a chain of な-adjectives, all except the final one would link up using で instead. – Flaw♦ Oct 7 '16 at 8:52
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    @Flaw An adverb can modify an adjective. 本当に怖い話 = a really scaring story; 本当の怖い話 = a real, scaring story – naruto Oct 7 '16 at 13:30

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