The Shenmue Prophecy: Comparison of All English Versions To Date

[Switch]

With the Anime trailer's new English wording of the prophecy recited by Shenhua in each game, I thought this would be a good time to compare the different wordings we have seen to date across the games, and see how they compare to a "plain" translation of the original Japanese.

An example line:

⑨ 漆黒の夜は広がりしも…明星はひとつ…燦爛と輝く。​

Shikkoku no yo wa hirogarishimo,,, myōjō wa hitotsu... sanran to kagayaku.

Plain translation: The pitch-black night unfolds... but the morning star shines brilliantly, alone.
[Shenmue I: prologue] A pitch black night unfolds with the morning star as its only light.
[Shenmue I: ending] A pitch black night unfolds with morning star as its only light.
[Shenmue II] In the midst of the pitch-black night, a morning star shall glisten, alone...
[Shenmue III] In the midst of the pitch-black night... a morning star shall glisten, alone.
[Anime trailer] Yet, even as the sky is devoured by darkness, a single morning star radiates its bright light.

Article:
https://www.phantomriverstone.com/2021/11/the-shenmue-prophecy-comparison-of-all.html

 

[Sergeynest]

With the Anime trailer's new English wording of the prophecy recited by Shenhua in each game, I thought this would be a good time to compare the different wordings we have seen to date across the games, and see how they compare to a "plain" translation of the original Japanese.
View attachment 13520
An example line:

⑨ 漆黒の夜は広がりしも…明星はひとつ…燦爛と輝く。​

Shikkoku no yo wa hirogarishimo,,, myōjō wa hitotsu... sanran to kagayaku.

Article:
https://www.phantomriverstone.com/2021/11/the-shenmue-prophecy-comparison-of-all.html

Great post; really nice to be able to see and compare all the Prophecies from all three games of the series plus the one from the Anime Trailer.
In one of my Shenmue Talk series episodes I gave my personal breakdown of Shenhua's Prophecy.
In case any of you guys are interested in watching it, here is the link to the episode; it starts at 1h39min & 50 sec.

 

[Jibby]

Great article! I think overall I like Shenmue I's version best. It has a real mysterious feel to it. The anime version feels like more of a monologue than a prophecy to me.

 

[Switch]

In one of my Shenmue Talk series episodes I gave my personal breakdown of Shenhua's Prophecy.
In case any of you guys are interested in watching it, here is the link to the episode; it starts at 1h39min & 50 sec.

Great analysis of the prophecy meaning. Your video series are extremely well-researched and thought out!

I think overall I like Shenmue I's version best. It has a real mysterious feel to it. The anime version feels like more of a monologue than a prophecy to me.

I agree, the Shenmue I version is also my preferred version. It has a poetic style that captures the sense of an ancient prophecy. Since the Japanese wording stays the same, it's interesting they chose to reword the English each time.

 

[Switch]

I had assumed that the prophecy wording at the end of Shenmue 1 (just before the credits) was the same as the one in the prologue, but it turns out to be slightly different! I've added this version into the post as well.