Avatar's forum

[avatar]

Hi all,

I'm just your typical J/E Translator around here but I'm a bilingual so I'm quite comfortable with JP or translating stuff in general especially at the Manga level. (FYI, I'm currently working in Japan and I'm not those typical English teachers so I'm no beginner in Japanese).

Anyway I've been on & off in the translation scene for a while now but never really stuck around long enough with any given group to be known around the place. I just don't have the time unfortunately.

FYI, Manga isn't the only stuff I've done in the past. The biggest project I've ever done was a translation of a H-video game and let me tell you, some of those stuff are basically visual novels full of text and its much harder & longer than doing a manga/anime (def not really keen to go through that again......).

Anyway currently working on Full Metal Panic: Sigma with Illuminati-Manga.
I will probably endup doing that entire series from start to finish (unless the Author gets really slow with releases).

Anything after that, well it would really depend on whats available.
I wouldn't mind doing something more complex than what your typical translator is willing to try but it has to gain my interest first.

I'll post some updates from time to time to keep everyone informed when I am more open to other stuff. (for now, FMP:Sigma will be enough)

Avatar

---

Just a quick update,

Vol 3 was released by Illuminati-Manga just recently.

I started doing Vol 4 on Sat and its about 40% done.
I'll have it finished by next weekend so those interested in this series, I'll post the translations like with the others.

For those interested with the finished product, please contact Illumiati-Manga or GGPX to hurry up with the releases.

Cheers.

---

Update to those interested.

I just finished Vol 4.
Not sure how long it'll take before release but I imagine Vol 4 will be in the works by the Illuminati-Manga team in the coming days/weeks.

(Now I can rest for while and start looking at Vol 5 around sometime in March )

 

[molokidan]

Hey Avatar! Welcome to the forums.

It's always interesting to me to talk to fellow translators and see where their journeys in the language have led them. Anyway let me start by asking some questions to liven up the thread!

You said you're a bilingual, does this mean you started learning Japanese from birth? If not, when did you start learning? What kind of work do you do now? Have you ever done any professional translation? What sort of manga do you enjoy aside from FMP and H? What do you think of the Edited Manga scene as a whole?

 

[avatar]

Hi there,

Sorry about the late reply.... not a regular member here as you can see.

Anyway, my background is quite "unique/unusual" (everyone tells me that) but I'm afraid I can't disclose the details on a public forum.....

As for the rest of your questions:

[Bilingual]
Unlike most translators here, Japanese is actually my 1st language.
I started learning English as a complete beginner while I was still in primary school, but I've been living overseas for so long now that I feel more comfortable with English than Japanese.

[Occupation]
I've never done "professional" translation before...... I could probably do it but never really had enough interest to apply for a job. Incidentally, my current job is in IT-Finance but I've been moving around a lot in my career.....so perhaps I'll try out "Translator" at some point?

[Manga]
I'm quite flexible with my tastes (Except Yaoi).
Some of the series I've really enjoyed (in no particular order):
~ Kodocha (esp anime)
~ His & Her Circumstances (Kare kano)
~ Fruits Basket
~ Gintama
~ School Rumble
~ FMP
~ FMA
~ Death Note
~ Berserk
~ GTO
~ GITS
~ Gantz
~ HXH

Its hard to say what genre I prefer the most.....I used to think I'm a big fan of Comedy but my all time fav series are BERSERK, GITS & GTO so its really hard to say.

[Edited Mangas]
I think the concept behind Edited Manga is clever and it has improved a lot over the years, particularly quality, quantity and accessibility..... but maybe thats just because of technology? I have to admit that quality of manga releases still vary based on the group working on them but some of them are definitely good enough for commercial release. (which makes me wonder why licensed manga/anime publishers don't collaborate with these groups)

On that topic though, I have some mixed opinions on Edited Mangas.
I thought the original intention behind Edited Manga was to increase general awareness of manga and to provide accessibility for people that couldn't get access to them. (no local availability, not available in their language etc).

What I find odd/sad is that some Edited Manga groups continue to work on popular series that are even commercially licensed..... which is like giving away free books to people right next to a book shop.
Its very easy to get digital content these days so even if its unintentional, Edited Manga groups probably end up causing more harm than good to the industry. That makes me sad because its almost like promoting piracy just like the Cracker groups that assist with piracy of digital media like music, applications, games etc.

Its a good thing that Japan is still a cash based society because I doubt that manga authors can make a living if everyone here got theirs online for free instead of buying it.

That being said, I don't want to sound overly negative on Edited Mangas.
There are groups out there that focus on less popular or known series and I'm sure lot of people out there wouldn't have even known about some of these "gems" if it wasn't for Edited Mangas.

 

[Xiphias]

What got you interested in translating manga?

 

[avatar]

So sorry about the late reply.....I've been out of the scene for a good while but things have been rather busy lately.....

As for your question: Why I started translating Manga, well there are several reasons:

1) I had some spare time (more so in the past)
2) I like Manga/Anime
3) Translation quality is poor with Edited Mangas
I was disappointed with the accuracy of some Edited Mangas that I read when compared to original manga dialogues. Most people are probably content with any Edited Manga given that its better than nothing & they don't know about the difference but once you've compared the original vs translations, its hard to not take notice. On a similar note, I'm one of those people that don't like watching "dubbed" anime for similar reasons. Esp with anime, you also have to consider the vocal cast, their emphasis on dialogues and whether it fits into the theme as well as translation accuracy. Incidentally, I find lot of dubbed anime just doesn't work well.

4) Lot of good series are unknown/ignored by most Edited Manga groups
This is probably one of my motivations for doing Manga translations.
Edited Manga is mostly like a hobby project and with no real incentives behind it, I can understand why most Edited Manga groups focus on the really popular series. Most people don't want to do "volunteer work" just for the fans or the community and I'm sure most groups don't want to work on a series that noone wants or has any interest in.

In the end though, everyone has different tastes and I'm one of those people that don't think popularity is the only basis to determine if anime/manga is any good or not. This is my way of showing people that there are other good series out there even if its not as popular as OnePiece/Naruto/Dragonball etc.

 

[avatar]

I can't believe its been 5 MONTHS since I last posted on this site.
Time flies..... Anyway getting to the point now.

After a long absence, I'm back again (though not regularly) so I'll start posting the new translations for other vol of FMP:Sigma.
I just uploaded Vol 5 recently. (but please note that its NOT scanlated yet).

As I've already done vol 1-5, I'll try my best to do the translation for the whole series for consistency (and to keep my original promise to do this series).