Since this journal is another rant, feel free to ignore my crazed antics.Read Del-Rey manga, that is. I was browsing my school's library and came across
Negima! Volume 11 so I decided to give it a try. My brain couldn't comprehend it. No, not the story, the translation. I already complained about about honorifics, so I won't go there. Besides, I'm willing to disregard them when nothing else is available. I simply swallowed by pride and replaced or omitted every honorific I came across. But that's not what irked me the most.
The translation was shoddy and that's putting it nicely.
I LOVE the fact they keep the beautiful colour artwork in the manga and have more extras than most translators out there, but when the story isn't delivered to the reader, I think something is terribly wrong.
I can't read Japanese and that's EXACTLY why I buy translated work. And when I can't understand what's going on because of obscure Japanese fan-speak, I'm earnestly turned off. And I'm sure newcomers to manga are irritated by this as well. Get random people off the street to read the finished product and if they can't understand, it was a poorly done job.
Problems with
Negima!'s translation:
1) Too literal translation - LAME sound effects. Honestly, what kind of sound effect is "Rain"? (Admittedly, this is in
Phoenix Wright, not
Negima!) "Pssshhh" or "Shaaaa" is much better!
The laughs and cheers are unbelievably awkward: page 71 Kotaro says, "USSH!" after blowing Mei out of the ring in the martial arts tournament. What normal person says, "USSH"?! I think the Japanese are saying, "YES!!" like the rest of us, but their accent comes across differently. Yes, I'm aware Kotaro is of Asian descent, but so are most of the others and they don't say, "USSH!" And Evangeline's laugh of "Hnh, hnh" is the most awkward mischevious laugh I've ever come across. I thought for a minute she was clearing her sinuses.
There's also a "NHN?" when "Huh?" or "Wha-?" carries the point across much more clearly.
2) No translation at all, not even at the back of the book. Page 5: "Mini-skirted
kitsune costume" and page 28: "
Baka Pink! How dare you enter me under my real name!" Sigh... It's NO wonder people think we're an arrogant and strange clique.
3) Random references that Westerners won't get without in-depth knowledge of Japan and their achievements. Page 102: "I mean, AIBO for sure" which is a reference to some sort of robot weapon I've never heard of. Maybe I'm sheltered, but an explanation would be greatly appreciated!
4) They use Wikipedia in order to explain their translations. OMG, Wikipedia is NOT a legitimate reference source, as ANYONE will tell you. It's great for basic information to springboard from, but considering anyone and everyone edits that source, it isn't credible. PLEASE tell me that Del Rey does more research beyond Wikipedia.
5) Honorific use with no translation. "Aniki" and "boya" are used with no explanation.
6) Honorific use, period. If
bozu is equivalent to our use of "squirt" or "kid" then USE THAT!
So, I'm not just complaining, I'm actually going to write a letter to them about this, because they ARE capable of good translations and do participate in the Americanization of some manga. After all, they keep
Phoenix Wright Americanized - if they really were adamant about keeping the so-called "Japanese feel" to manga, they would never, ever choose to keep the westernized version of
Phoenix Wright, no matter how popular it was.
Man, I've been raving a lot lately, haven't I? Sorry about that!
Other NewsIf you have not claimed your BBOC yet, the journal you can do so can be found here:
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A pro at using oekaki, a master of the upper body, and a fan of the dodge-bright look, Yuki has a happy aura in most of her works that's hard not to smile back at. I'm very fond of her OCs too and her cheerful Miyuki is one to fall in love with as she's just as adorable as her creator.
I Can't Do It Anymore - A Manga Rant 
Disgust
Devious Comments
This is everything I'm crusading against.
I haven't read too many Dark Horse translations recently except for the Oh My Goddess novel that came out last year. They dipped in quality a little bit because they stuck in honorifics when they never used them before. Fortunately, there were only two used a few times and the overall piece was decent, but... oh, the power of the "needs-to-be as-Japanese-as-possible" from the rabid fans must be overwhelming.
No translators butcher other languages. And French translated manga is much better than our English crap.
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A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. - Winston Churchill
at least I guess spanish manga is not translated that way xD, at least not the ones I read XP or I didnt notice it XP
anyway, you have to think that, you started not with the first one, but the 11... maybe they did make a dictionary or commented the words in japanese the first time they appeared in the series or something xP (lol now I am pretty innocent XD). I wont justify the other stuff though, but maybe they though that acumulating words from thome to thome was pretty page consuming xP.
never readed negima so I cant tell if I like it or not xP but I do know that all the girls look like in love with a very young kid O.o that dont look proper.
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"Knowledge is the real power"
Negima! is pretty messed up with its pedophilic tendencies, but the mix of Western and Eastern mysticism is pretty cool!
--
A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. - Winston Churchill
--
"Knowledge is the real power"
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"I think everyone can say that tying Andi up and throwing her in the trunk has worked out for the best,"--Sock, Reaper
Just because a story isn't as popular as another, doesn't mean they can slack off. Where's the pride in their work?
--
A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. - Winston Churchill
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"I think everyone can say that tying Andi up and throwing her in the trunk has worked out for the best,"--Sock, Reaper
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