「愛には代償が必要で、愛には責任が必要で、愛には努力して勝ち取る必要がある。愛は相手のために何かを諦め、自分を変えることだ。」
中文译文：爱是需要付出代价，爱是需要担当，爱是需要努力争取，爱是需要你为了对方而放弃一些事情，并改变自己。”
English translation: Love requires sacrifice; love requires responsibility; love must be earned through effort. Love means giving something up for the other person and changing yourself.
理莎（リサ）
——日本动画电影《悬崖上的金鱼姬》（日文片名：崖の上のポニョ）
电影上映时间（Anime release dates）2008年7月19日（日本）
这句话出现在影片的后半段，是理莎在波妞与宗介之间关系面临考验时对宗介所说的。故事讲述了一条金鱼波妞因舔了人类男孩宗介的血而化身为人形，随后引发海啸、打破自然秩序，波妞的父亲试图将她带回深海，而波妞不顾一切想要留在宗介身边。理莎是一位在养老院工作的母亲，丈夫常年出海，她独自照顾年幼的宗介，深知爱的沉重与艰难。她对宗介说这句话时，并非在鼓励或赞美，而是在明确告知一个小男孩“爱”的真实面貌——它不是童话里的轻松浪漫，而是一件需要你付出、担当、争取、放弃和改变的事。波妞愿意放弃魔法成为人类，宗介需要承诺永远不变心——两人都必须用具体行动交换“在一起”的可能性。
This line appears in the latter half of the film, spoken by Risa to Sosuke at a time when the relationship between Ponyo and Sosuke is being put to the test. The story follows Ponyo, a goldfish who transforms into a human after licking the blood of a human boy named Sosuke, subsequently triggering a tsunami and disrupting the natural order. Ponyo’s father attempts to take her back to the deep sea, but Ponyo is determined to stay by Sosuke’s side at all costs.
Risa is a mother who works at a nursing home; her husband is away at sea year-round, leaving her to care for young Sosuke alone. She understands all too well the weight and difficulty of love. When she says this to Sosuke, she isn’t offering encouragement or praise, but rather clearly explaining to the little boy the true nature of “love”—it isn’t the lighthearted romance of fairy tales, but something that requires sacrifice, responsibility, struggle, letting go, and change. Ponyo is willing to give up her magic to become human, and Sōsuke must promise never to change his heart—both of them must exchange concrete actions for the possibility of “being together.”
我们习惯把“爱”说成一种感觉——心动了、开心了、被吸引了——好像爱是一件从天上掉下来的礼物。但理莎却说：爱是代价，是担当，是争取，是放弃，是改变。 五个动词，每一个都带着重量。她不是在教宗介如何浪漫，而是在教他如何负责。波妞为了留在宗介身边，放弃了魔法、放弃了海底世界、放弃了自己作为金鱼的所有身份——这就是代价；宗介必须在波妞变成泡沫之前，承诺“不管波妞是鱼还是人，我都喜欢她”——这就是担当。
安徒生笔下的小人鱼为爱牺牲，却最终化为泡沫，因为王子没有认出她；而波妞愿意放弃魔法，宗介则用“我一生都会保护你”来回应。理莎的这句话在影片中正是在提醒宗介：爱不是单向的牺牲，而是双向的付出。如果你不能为她放弃一些东西，如果你不能因为她而改变自己，你就没有准备好接受她的爱。 幸运的是，宗介做到了——他带着波妞穿越被海啸淹没的城市，就是为了回到母亲身边，告诉她自己要永远保护波妞。那个五岁男孩的行动，验证了理莎那句关于“担当”和“努力争取”的话。
爱的上头期总是轻松而甜美的，但真正的爱却总是需要人在具体的生活里付出代价。你可能需要为了陪伴家人而放弃高薪的外派工作；你可能需要为了理解对方而改变自己固有的沟通方式；你可能需要在对方生病时承担照料的责任；你可能需要在关系出现危机时选择修复而不是逃避。理莎的这句话看起来很朴素，但在一个习惯把“爱”当作消费品的时代，它不啻为一次关于“爱”的本质的回归。
We tend to think of “love” as a feeling—a flutter in the heart, happiness, being drawn to someone—as if love were a gift that fell from the sky. But Risa says: Love is a sacrifice, a responsibility, a struggle, a letting go, and a transformation. Five verbs, each carrying its own weight. She isn’t teaching Sosuke how to be romantic; she’s teaching him how to be responsible. To stay by Sosuke’s side, Ponyo gave up her magic, her underwater world, and her entire identity as a goldfish—that is the cost; Sosuke must promise, before Ponyo turns into bubbles, “Whether Ponyo is a fish or a human, I’ll love her”—that is responsibility.
In Andersen’s tale, the Little Mermaid sacrifices herself for love but ultimately turns into a bubble because the prince fails to recognize her; yet Ponyo is willing to give up her magic, and Sosuke responds with, “I’ll protect you for the rest of my life.” Risa’s words in the film serve precisely to remind Sosuke: love is not a one-way sacrifice, but a two-way commitment. If you can’t give up something for her, if you can’t change yourself for her, then you aren’t ready to accept her love. Fortunately, Sosuke did just that—he carried Ponyo through a city submerged by a tsunami, all to return to his mother and tell her that he would protect Ponyo forever. That five-year-old boy’s actions validated Risa’s words about “responsibility” and “striving.”
The early stages of love are always lighthearted and sweet, but true love always requires people to pay a price in the concrete realities of daily life. You may need to give up a high-paying overseas assignment to be with your family; you may need to change your ingrained communication style to better understand your partner; you may need to take on the responsibility of caring for them when they’re sick; you may need to choose to repair the relationship rather than run away when it faces a crisis. Risa’s words may seem simple, but in an era where “love” is often treated as a consumer good, they represent nothing less than a return to the essence of “love.”
What do you think?
