Meaning of なろうとなんだろうと

Question

In a manga I found the following sentence:

ボロボロになろうとなんだろうと自分で気づくしかない

What does the なろうとなんだろうと means? The remaing part should mean something on the lines of "She must notice by himself [...] if she hurt herself", and the given translation is something like (I'm translating a translation, sorry for any inaccuracy) "Even if she will hurt himself, he must notice it by himself".

I found a couple of questions (here and here) in which part of that expressione appears, but they doesn't really seem to apply; a Google search wasn't helpful, either, and my grammars doesn't have that form, which maybe is a mix of multiple forms?

Answer 1

「ボロボロになろうとなんだろうと自分{じぶん}で気{き}づくしかない。」

First, allow me to start from the basic.

「Verb in Volitional Form + と or が + Phrase」

is a very common expression meaning:

"Verb + ても関係{かんけい}なく + Phrase" =

"Even if [verb], [Phrase]."

Thus, 「ボロボロになろうと」 means "Even if one/you/I were torn to shreds".

Moving on to 「ボロボロになろうとなんだろうと」...

The 「なんだろうと」 part does not really hold an independent meaning of its own. The sentence in question would mean practically the same without 「なんだろうと」. So, why is it there?

「なんだろうと」, in this context, simply emphasizes the sub-clause 「ボロボロになろうと」. As one can see, 「だろうと」 and 「なろうと」 rhyme perfectly; therefore, it creates a good rhythm that is lively and emphatic.

You will often hear phrases in the same construct such as:

・「かわいいネコちゃんだろうがなんだろうが、オレは動物が苦手なんだって！」

・「東京だろうがどこだろうが行っちゃえよ。もうお前の顔は見たくねえ！」

・「森田だろうがだれだろうがいらないって。オレは一人でこの仕事をしたいんだって。」

Notice that the question word changes according to what you are emphasizing -- なん、どこ、だれ、どう, etc.

Answer 2

I think you are translation of ボロボロになろうと → "Even if they will hurt themselves a lot" is correct.

Though I can't find any reference, I think this なんだろうと means "or anything", "or whatever". However, you might not need to explicitly use "or anything", or "or whatever" since it's redundant and "even if" means なろうとなんだろうと.

Even if it rains a lot, I will go to work.

"Even if" says any antecedents will not change the conclusion : "I will go to work". (Train might prevent you from doing so though, you want go to work in any situations)

There is an idiomatic expression using a similar structure: 雨が降ろうと、槍が降ろうと . 「どんな困難があってもやりとげるという強い決意のたとえ。石にかじりついても。」

ボロボロになろうとなんだろうと自分で気づくしかない

So, add them together, "Even if they will hurt themselves a lot (or whatever), they need to realize on their own"