Just dropped by to say thanks for translating all those gender bender/transgender mangas, which is one of the reasons I became a fan of yours. ^_^
I also read most of the mangas you've translated here on MH, including the work you did on Hourou Musuko. I also hope you catch up on Fudanshism since it combines gender bender and education - teaching us about the otaku culture. :P
Thank you very much for the kind words. I am continuing with Fudanshism, although I kinda dread the last four pages of each chapter. It almost takes as long to TL those as the other 20 pages!
Anyway, some questions:
1) Besides having worked in Kotonaha, have you ever worked for any other Edited Manga groups?
2) Do groups ever PM you about TLing manga for them?
3) How much time does it take you to TL a typical chapter (approximately)?
4) What mangas do you recommend reading that are gender benders/TG besides Hourou Musuko, which I know you love since you're a Shimura fan?
5) What makes gender benders/TG mangas interesting for you?
6) Have you read
Nicoichi? If you have, what are your thoughts on that manga?
1) Yes. Hanashi, Dynasty, Horobi No Michi and some others. Not so much nowadays. Ever since I found Mangahelpers, I'm more of a lone translator. It's a trade off. I don't have to worry about deadlines or group dynamics, but I do miss knowing that my translations will end up in the hand of a skilled editor.
2) Yes - frequently. While I don't mind people asking, I end up shooting most of them down. Typically the reason is that people don't look at the kind of manga I'm interested in, and ask me to translate shonen titles. I like shonen, but there are plenty of groups that handle that. I like finding titles that may not get attention otherwise due to lack of explosions or pantyshots.
Also, I translate quite a few titles already, so adding another one is something I have to think about carefully, since I'm pretty busy in real life. I am a sucker for a mature, sexy one-shot though.
3) About two hours for most 24 page titles. Some writers are pretty damn wordy though, like Ryuta Amazume, and those stories take longer.
4) My preference is for more mature stories, so Takako Shimura definitely takes the prize (Hourou Musuko, Boku wa Onna no Ko). For mindless sexy try Boku no Futatsu no Tsubasa. For a fun cross-over between gender bender and otaku culture, go for Fudanshizm. Yubisaki Milktea is great, twisty (and unfortunately unfinished). Princess Princess is really funny over on the josei side of the fence. Family Compo is done by the artist of Angle Heart and City Hunter and has that trademark blend of great art and funny stories. Kakumei no Hi is a favorite, and I love Pranas/Prunus Girl, and recommend it to everyone - fun writing and fantastic characters. Read G.I.D. for a realistic look at gender identity disorder, and I.S. for a realistic look at intersex issues.
5) Gender benders are interesting because they subvert one of the most powerful things in culture - sexuality and gender roles. Most of the time these roles never get examined: Boy must smack things with a fist or a sword *grunt*; Girl must show cleavage and tease boy *squeal*.
Gender benders represent the possibility of changing who and what you are. Often they are a search for a person's true self. They also can deal the struggle of having to handle things like unwanted change or prejudice.
While the manga world tends to stay in clichéd territory - "Gasp, I now have a penis/boobs! How is my secret love going to react? They must never find out! Golly, they found out! Let's have crazy adventures" - people do get murdered over this stuff in real life:
http://kclarkscorner.blogspot.com/2009/07/report-transgender-murders-on-rise.html
So for those who have to deal with gender issues, it can be very isolating and lonely and frightening. It's nice to have fun stories to explore what is *possible*.
6) I have the first three volumes, and it's a fun series. I like the tension between the male side and female side of the main character, and the way the story shows how he's a loving mother to his son (you only can write a sentence like that with a gender bender!). But ultimately, I worry that it's played for laughs, and that it's going to have a "bad ending" (in gender bender terms) - in other words, the main character will "go straight", marry the girlfriend, and undo the whole point of the story.
Other questions welcome!