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Manga

Japanese manga:「母さんはっきりいってこんどはオレ自信があるんだ！」

Viz manga: "I can beat them now, Mom! I know I can!"

TV Special: "Quite frankly, I know this time I can take them!"

In Viz, 今度 is translated as "now", but in the TV special, it's translated as "this time". The former translation doesn't necessarily imply Trunks fought the Androids before, whereas the latter does. Could someone clarify which version is more accurate?

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  • 今度 can be translated as "now" or "this time" depending on context and usage. Either is fine. What exactly is your issue here?
    – クールレーザー
    Feb 6 '20 at 21:00
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    In English, "I can beat them this time" implies the speaker tried and failed to beat his opponents in the past, whereas "I can beat them now/at this time" doesn't strictly imply that. My issue is that I don't know if the original dialogue implies Trunks fought the Androids in the past.
    – John Dough
    Feb 6 '20 at 21:43
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Obviously spoilers follow for the events of Dragon Ball.

As with most Japanese excerpts, this should be looked at in the full context. There are a few points that have to be highlighted from Bulma's dialogue preceding the line posted here:

  • She reminds Trunks about the defeat Gohan suffered at the hands of the Androids and how Trunks witnessed his death.
  • Bulma, having known Gohan for a longer time due to age than Trunks (and lived firsthand mainly through their adventures on Namek, since the timeline divergence occurs during the Android/Cell Saga), implies she has a better understanding of how powerful Gohan was in comparison to Trunks.
  • Bulma concludes that the Gohan from three years ago that died at the hands of the Androids and the Trunks she is talking to now aren't that far in strength, therefore also subtly implying that if he fights, the outcome of Gohan vs. the Androids from three years ago would occur once again and that he would lose.

Trunks is then telling Bulma that he's certainly confident (はっきりいって) in his skills now (こんどはオレ自身があるんだ), and that she is wrong in her implications.

So in conclusion, no, his phrasing doesn't imply that he has fought the Androids before. They are both basing their opinions around the events of:

  • Gohan vs. Androids fight of 3 years ago
  • Trunks' training during that time and the present
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  • Thanks for the answer. Out of curiousity, how would it be phrased in Japanese to imply they fought before?
    – John Dough
    Feb 6 '20 at 23:11
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    Trunks is not telling Bulma to はっきり言って, but is using that expression because he is being straightforward in what he is saying. It would be strange if it were directly translated into English, but it's natural in Japanese.
    – By137
    Feb 7 '20 at 13:00
  • @By137 Oh, I see. Certainly the usage of 「感想や評価などを遠慮せずに述べることを示す表現」 fits better in this context. I didn't know you could use it this way too!
    – Eriol
    Feb 7 '20 at 14:00

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