tenfoldtranslation

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There's a doujin that I happened across online a year or two ago maybe, the English translation was wonky (and skipped a lot of the bubbles that were half sfx/half words), but I liked the content and the translations were kinda charming in their own way. At some point I found some of the original Japanese and noticed that even though it read more smoothly, I had gotten attached to some of the subpar English phrasing.

WELL. It had been quite a while and I wanted to read it again, but it wasn't available where I originally found it. (I had actually looked for a physical copy in some doujin shops in Japan this past summer but wasn't able to find it.) Anyway, now that DLsite is getting hard to use (.n.), I finally had a reason to give it a try, and got a PDF of the doujin in the original Japanese.

Let me tell you, I think it restored some of my motivation for translating, and translating well. I had liked the story before, but reading the original, there was a throughline to the plot I hadn't been able to pick up on before. It made the characters' reactions a lot more understandable, and even though I had liked the story already, it was like unwrapping a story that was somehow even better.

I love manga as a medium because I think the art can convey characters' expressions in a way that text just can't. But even so, as someone who works with the text, I think this reinforced my commitment to bringing readers of the translation the same experience that readers would have had in the source language. To think it had that much more depth to it than I originally thought. Translating line by line just doesn't cut it. Sentences don't stand alone, they're telling a story.

P.S. It also reminded me that people (me) get unreasonably attached to media that may not 'deserve' it, and you never know what's going to bring someone meaning and comfort when they might need it most, so it's worth trying hard to create whatever you're trying to create, even if it only ends up reaching one person. I promise they'll appreciate it.

#this is a lot of pressure to put on a doujin #and you'll catch me dead before I reveal which one it is #but with all the debate about fan translation vs official and how close to stay to a literal translation #this felt like a meaningful reminder of why and how to translate #original

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One of my series is probably getting dropped from any future volumes because it didn't sell well... I can't say I'm surprised, but I'm sadder than I thought I would be.

#what's the politest way of saying 'hire better typesetters' #nuuu #😔

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Bothering the beast

#relevant #me #but with lots more hugging and face squishing too

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Also, in case I didn't love them already, this author labels where every flashback is from!!

#flashbacks #yayyy #redacted

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sorry i can't come in to work today. yeah sorry they killed me off last night. yeah i just wasn't relevant to the plot anymore. i should be in tomorrow but i'll let you know.

#why is this the next post I saw #reblog

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Shojo manga authors will write the most gut-wrenching chapter and then at the end go Teehee, April Fools!

#what if that character wasn't dead! Wouldn't that be fun haha #ch 307 #redacted

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something i have always found really weird is when english texts italicize words from other languages.

i remember reading a book as a kid and the author continually italicizing the word tamales

#italics #reblog #reminders #to self

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#relevant #reblog

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I love translating manga but honestly at this point the JLPP fills me with fear

#I see more than one person trying the classical Japanese one and I'm like #okay then don't need to do that one because it won't turn out at all ^-^;;;;; #I need to practice with paragraphs so they stop being intimidating #honestly the worse problem is that I get distracted in the middle of them #thoughts

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#relevant #reblog

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What I really love about the Daydream Hour art is that it really shows that the characters in Dungeon Meshi aren’t just characters in a story, but they’re Ryoko Kui’s ocs. And sure maybe this is a perk that’s granted to mangakas that release on a monthly schedule opposed to weekly IDK but there’s just some about getting to see different interpretations of the characters and peeks into what she draws in her free time outside the story.

Like look Marcille likes to dance

And here’s the characters in Halloween costumes

Taking Covid precautions

And like I just love how casually she draws and depicts the characters in her personal work. There’s something for quite literally all the characters and like I said maybe other mangakas don’t have or can’t find the time to do so or choose to not release their personal work like she does but I think these pieces just make the characters feel more alive. Like she’s an oc artist through and through lol

#dungeon meshi #ryoko kui #iro yugi #yugi iro

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I forgot, this manga has the only other character I've seen who's picky about taking the white stuff off oranges, like me!!

#Kei #redacted

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okay, general list of different spellings I’ve seen in the dunmeshi fan translations

laios- has never been spelled differently in my experience. that’s bc ライオス is very easy to transliterate lol. (raiosu)

falin- farlin/farlyn were the most common! falin was actually a pretty unpopular/scrapped translation from my memory lol. i think her name is just ファリン (falin) though so. yeah it is the most literal one. i still like farlyn a little more though heehee.

now! their last name- now localized as “touden” was spelled “thorden” in the translation i read.

senshi- always been senshi. this is actually important for a small bit where Falin thinks his name is 戦士 (warrior), lol

marcille- surprisingly, she also had a few different spellings. it was really early in the fan translation so you don’t see a lot of people calling her anything other than marcille. it was like… marshille/marsille/marsil so not too different.

chilchuck- chilchack. i specifically remember a t/n saying they decided to go with chilchack over chilchuck LOL.

Thistle- Sissel. Thissel.

Shuro- THIS ONE IS SO FUNNY ACTUALLY. For a while in the translation I was reading Laios & co would call him “Sureau” WHICH. fuck makes later events so much better. I’m not sure how intentional it was on the translator’s part but it ended up working out if it wasn’t!

Other things:

-Tallmen got translated just as “human” before it became clear that it was the canon term for humans.

-I can’t remember exactly what name they chose, but one translator decided to localize Kensuke to something to sort of preserve the pun. For those who don’t know, naming a sword Kensuke is kinda like naming it “Sir Swordsington” lolol.

#names #dungeon meshi #reblog #very surprised there's no elaboration on sissel/thistle here #I thought there was controversy but maybe not...?

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how did senshi say this with his mouth

#image in text #for consideration #reblog

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https://twitter.com/miyabi_2222/status/1131721775123841024/photo/1

#oh good #longcat #pretty sure this was referenced in the manga I was working on #TN included accordingly #^^ #reblog

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im not calling it "delicious in dungeon". anyone who calls it that should be forced to do the blood test from "the thing"

#titles

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Well! After not making the first or second waitlist rounds, and being fourth from last on the still-not-accepted waitlist, I was checking the schedule on Guidebook since it finally released today, and was more than slightly surprised to see the name of my panel on a 9-10am slot on Sunday. Cool??!

Aw man, panel for Zenkaikon wasn't accepted for first round acceptance, fingers crossed I can get in for second round or speed panel.

On the plus side, it sounds like there will be a ton of panels I'm interested in! Even one specifically about cat manga!

#adding this to my list of things I've reluctantly been accepted to #XD #Went well at Setsucon though so it shouldn't be too much to prepare #just glad I saw it before it happened yk #who knows maybe the next series will even be announced by then?? 0-0 #original #Zenkaikon