The Shadow-Skill thread

[shadow-skill]

A few people mentioned to me that I should start a thread... I really had no interest in doing so since I never planned on doing the more popular series. But well, there are people who do read and scan what I translate.

I didn't know exactly what to put here either, so I checked out a couple of the other translators threads to see what they did, and some were REALLY long, then the last one I saw was Finestela's and her's (was about to put his) was short. So I'll try to keep mine short.

I got interested in Japanese at around 10 back before anime was popular here in the states. My sister liked it, showed me some anime and I got hooked. It would be great if I started learning japanese then, but this isn't a fairy tale. I started learning japanese 2 years into college.
That's right, it was another 10 years before I started learning japanese. Why you ask? Because the schools I went to didn't offer the language until AFTER I graduated!! Looking back on it, that was probably a good thing considering I was taught by a native speaker. For whatever the reason, languages were really simple to me, and I was able to hold an adult conversation in 7 months.

The first manga I ever translated was To-love-ru for M7 from chptr. 61.

Now enough about me, if you have something to say, say it. I generally wont get mad. If you want to suggest that I translate something, suggest it. Whether or not I do it depends mostly on the manga itself, and the rest on my schedule. Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT ask me to do any yaoi! The answer will ALWAYS be a no. Aside from that, I'm open to most others.

Hmm... that's it for now. And it wasn't short like I had hoped it to be

 

[Gomenasai]

pfft! Don't lie, no body asked you to make this! You just want people to come talk to you, you introvert! What's with that 7 month thing? Are you trying to brag??

Okay, jokes aside. I was just getting you back for so saying I get no love after I posted the Kohinata translation.

 

[shadow-skill]

Shut up punk!! You just had to be the 1st one to post here didn't you???

sigh... oh well.

 

[Doragon]

Question:

What's with the coke sig?

 

[shadow-skill]

It was supposed to be a joke that said Coke Geass. I'm sure you can guess who goes where right?

 

[Doragon]

Oh, I see what you did there. I lol'd. Another one, who's the guy in your avatar?

 

[shadow-skill]

Yeah, the pic was a little too big to fit... and my avatar is my screen name: Shadow Skill! It's Gau, and not Elle because I'm a guy.

 

[Doragon]

Of all the series you translate, which do you like the most?

 

[shadow-skill]

Hmm, that's a tough one... Junketsu no Maria? I never really thought about it. I like Teppu a lot too. I really can't say there's a specific one I look froward to the most. Maybe those two because they're bi-monthly and so far there hasn't been a real drop off in the comedy or action.

But I wont do a series if I don't like it, no matter how much someone asks or says its just this one time or whatever, so I guess the answer is all of the ones I do.

 

[Gomenasai]

Okay then, how about: of all the manga you read/translate which don't you like and why?

 

[shadow-skill]

Well, 1st off, if I didn't like a manga I wouldn't read it. But I will say this, there are some that I lost all interest in. 2 main ones are Bleach and Hitman Reborn. I'm sure you can guess why, both have turned into garbage, especially Bleach. The story is at a total stand still and is doing nothing but meaningless battles that take too damn long to complete. It's like the author doesn't know what he's doing and is just stalling for time to get past writer's block and in the meanwhile we're stuck with this poor excuse of a story line that's going no where.

The ONLY plus is that Ichigo hasn't been in it for like 5 months or so, but that's not good enough. Hitman is about the same, but the story isn't so much at a stand still as it's regressing. The story was semi-good up until the part where Irie became a teammate. Although not in the question, I generally only watch anime for which I havent' read the manga. That way I wont get dissapointed and I can just enjoy (or try to) what I'm seeing.

So far this season, Canaan, Isekai no Seikishi monogatari and Bakemonogatari are good.

 

[Gomenasai]

Wow! What a lonely thread! It's been like 3 months since someone did anything in here, and that person was me!! Meanwhile, the other threads of the GOOD translators are thriving!!!

 

[Macurai]

This may sound a little strange, but I only ask out of curiosity. How would you describe your translation work-flow? Also, how do you prioritize your translations?

 

[Bugzee]

Happy New Year Shadow-Skull!!!


So..what are you looking forward to the most this year??? anything planned??

 

[Dash4]

Hi Shadow-Skill

How's it going?

Just out of curiosity, how long does it normally take you to translate a chapter of manga on average? Have you ever thought of translating manga as boring?

 

[shadow-skill]

I'm sorry, I've totally been neglecting this thread... sadly enough it's my thread!! Anyway, to answer your questions,

1.) @Macurai, When I first started posting translations on this site, I made it a point to do things that were new or left alone. I did the likes of Kurogane no Linebarrels, and Fire Emblem: Hasha no Tsurugi. From there I did some others, but when I did new things, I did them without knowing what magazine they ran in. What I mean by that is, I did them without knowing which the leeches would flock to faster because of what mag it runs in. Although now I have a bunch of series that I work on consistently (and inconsistently at times) I still go for new ones. As for priority, aside from the weekly Beelzebub and Medaka now that Ane-doki has ended, whatever I think I've left alone for the longest gets done next.

2.) @buggy, Happy (belated) new year to you too!! Although a little (4 weeks) late, I'm looking forward to Omamori Himari. I'm translating that for Keishou, you guys should check it out, especially if you haven't read the manga.

3.) @dash, Pretty good, thanks. How's things with you? As for translating a chptr, it depends on the manga. I can do a fairy tail in under 10 minutes. Beelzebub in around 15 minutes. Ane-doki depending on how many of my silly notes I put in was about the same as Beelzebub. However, when I was doing Shi ga futari o... I remember taking an hour on a chptr because of how scientifically heavy it was. I had to get the kanji right, then make sense of what the author was trying to get across then put it properly so everyone could understand it. There are also manga like Medaka which can sometimes take 30 minutes because of how text heavy it can be. Then we get into the annoying world of monthly manga... on average, they're 40 pages a pop. Now, if a 19 page Medaka takes 30 mintes, imagine a 40 page change123 oh how annoying!! Text heavy, the male lead is a douche, and for a while, the story wasn't advancing. <--I guess that answers the last part of your question, yes I did find it boring. So when I find it boring, I find something else that'll keep my interest.

And once again I apologize for taking so long to answer you guys

 

[Gomenasai]

Wow, I bet you're happy, someone other than ME FINALLY posted in your sorry thread!!! Jokes aside, I'm back. and I'm gonna bother u like b4!!

 

[shadow-skill]

sigh, u again. u don't need 2 post here 4 me 2 know that ur back. This is getting annoying, so stop.

 

[DarkCloudInc]

Hey, as a reader, I do appreciate you putting the time to translate the series that you've done especially after having read a great deal of the series.

 

[shadow-skill]

You're welcome! It's good to know that my volunteering is appreciated. btw, was there a specific series you were talking about?