2

Context: in this manga the protagonist, a cameraman that likes to film scenes of real violence and homicides, is saying that he dislikes video of people filming themselves while committing suicide:

死にたがりが勝手に死ぬ動画なんて…　ただの自慰【オナニー】じゃないか。他人の自慰【オナニー】ほど観るに堪えないものはないよ。

I don't understand why the term 自慰 was used here and I don't know how to translate it. The Daijirin has two meanings for 自慰:

1. 自分で自分を慰めること。 2. 手淫(シユイン)。 オナニー。

Since the word has the オナニー furigana, the only possible meaning in this case is the second one, masturbation, but I think it doesn't fit in the sentence. Could it be interpreted as something similar like self-complacency, or self-satisfaction? My translation attempt:

Someone wanting do die and making a video of his death... is just self-complacency, right? I can't stand watching other people self-complacency.

Other than suggesting a translation for 自慰, could you also explain what you think the general meaning of the sentence is? Let me know if you need more context. Thank you for your help!

Improve this question
3
  • 4
    "Watching a death-seeker just up and kill themselves, it's like watching someone masturbate. There's nothing less worth watching."
    – Cong Hui
    Aug 16, 2017 at 4:37
  • 3
    The speaker is likening someone filming their own suicide as a kind of masturbation of sorts. Well, not "of sorts". It's a direct comparison. And then he's saying there nothing he can't stand more than watching someone else masturbate. In other words, he has no interest in watching someone else's film of their own suicide.
    – A.Ellett
    Aug 16, 2017 at 4:52
  • Thank you for your comments. Could you please post them as answers?
    – Marco
    Aug 17, 2017 at 8:38

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

This is a common (and vulgar) metaphor in Japanese. Even though they do not explicitly say "～のようだ", "～みたいだ" or "～同然だ", listeners can understand what it implies. It literally means masturbation, but yes, it figuratively means self-satisfaction in this context.

Improve this answer
2
  • Thank you for your answer! Since in the first part of the sentence there isn't a verb, I don't understand what is the action and its subject. Does it refer to the maker of the video or to the spectators? Which do you think is most correct between the following translations? If neither is correct, could you add a correct translation to your answer? Thank you very much! 1) Making a video of yourself while committing suicide... is like masturbation. 2) Watching a video of someone committing suicide... is like watching someone masturbate.
    – Marco
    Aug 17, 2017 at 11:55
  • @Marco Both 1 and 2 seem okay to me, but 1 is closer to the original sentence.
    – naruto
    Aug 17, 2017 at 12:00

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .