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Has Anyone Hand Translated Imported Manga?


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blaizevincent



Joined: 16 Nov 2010
Posts: 407
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:09 am Reply with quote
Hi guys,

I'm interested in knowing if this is a crazy idea or something slightly more commonplace.

I'm thinking about self translating my Kaiji Manga i imported. I currently only have the first 3 volumes. All These volumes and many more have been translated online.

I figured since the likelihood of me getting good enough at reading Japanese to fully understand it is highly unlikely. I try but i just dont see it ever happening.

So i figured why not use those translations, print out the english text in the speech bubbles and well stick them into the corresponding speech bubbles in the manga and i now have an English version to enjoy. Something i can actually read and enjoy the real thing without looking at the Computer Screen.

I figured it'd be a fun project. Slightly expensive perhaps on paper on ink over an entire manga run but i dont know it seemed something worthwhile to me. For the manga i really care about but are unlikely to get Licensed for English. Kaiji and Fighting Spirit being the two i would consider doing this for.

So again my question is am i totally crazy or is this something that is and has been done. Do any of you do this or know anyone who has. Is this a bad idea or a good one etc etc Whats your opinion?
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st_owly



Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 5234
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:22 am Reply with quote
I could never do that to a book. To me, it'd just seem like destroying it.
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blaizevincent



Joined: 16 Nov 2010
Posts: 407
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:36 am Reply with quote
st_owly wrote:
I could never do that to a book. To me, it'd just seem like destroying it.


I totally understand that fear but to be honest Manga isn't bought to be just an Artbook , its bought to be read.

I cant read much japanese and i know i never will be able to tbh , im just not that clever to fully understand it all and in turn too busy to be committed to overcome that obstacle.

So i figured why not change the Japanese text to english , i mean the art its self isn't getting covered up. Just japanese text i cant read.

I think i might try it once just too see. I mean i would much rather read the Kaiji story in the actual book itself rather than staring at a computer. Whilst the volumes on the bookshelf gather dust. My logic is it gives them use. The use they were made for.
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Saffire



Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 1255
Location: Iowa, USA
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:43 am Reply with quote
I can't say I've ever heard of someone doing this, to be honest. That seems like a truly massive time investment, especially for a super long series like Fighting Spirit...
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Dessa



Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 4438
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:35 am Reply with quote
I've seen someone do it, to a book that was either owned by or donated to the library. I'm sorry, but I agree with st_owly, it's defacing the book, and it made me sick. If you want to have the translations with the book, then just print them out and keep them with the book.

Honestly, if you think books are meant to be read, and you can't read the language, I'm not sure why you bought the books in the first place. I don't speak Japanese, but the series that I own in Japanese are ones that I know the story of well enough so that I can follow along with the imagery, and if there's really a confusing scene, I use a Japanese WP to muddle through the kanji.
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RAmmsoldat



Joined: 19 Oct 2005
Posts: 1261
Location: North wales coast
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 10:08 am Reply with quote
I think it would wind up looking pretty tatty and that alone would put me off doing it.
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Moomintroll



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1600
Location: Nottingham (UK)
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 12:32 pm Reply with quote
Dessa wrote:
If you want to have the translations with the book, then just print them out and keep them with the book.


Agreed. That's what I do with the French stuff I import.
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ZepysGirl



Joined: 14 Jun 2010
Posts: 470
Location: NY, NY
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:58 pm Reply with quote
...wow, I'm kind of surprised at all the negative opinions here. o_o I've considered doing something similar with my volumes of Double Arts. I don't want to just print out a script, because going back and forth between that would get old fast. However, since I am learning Japanese, I'd translate them myself for extra practice. That would feel better than using someone else's translations--- but I can understand why that wouldn't be a good option for most.

If I were to do it, I'd probably buy another copy of the book, though. Not because I'm worried about "defacing the book," but because I'd still want a Japanese copy to practice with. I really wouldn't consider pasting in a translation "defacing," especially when in fact it'd only be facilitating the book's original purpose: being able to be read and enjoyed.

Sure, it'll take a bit of time to do it well, but I think I'm up to it. Anime smile What I do with my own property is really not anyone's business?
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Wintermoot



Joined: 29 Aug 2012
Posts: 16
Location: Zutphen
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 3:33 am Reply with quote
it's your property, so go nuts.
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Alan45
Village Elder



Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 9812
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 8:00 am Reply with quote
ZepysGirl wrote:
Quote:
I don't want to just print out a script, because going back and forth between that would get old fast.


I would consider that to be something of an understatement. I read about half of Kimagure Orange Road that way and I haven't gotten around to finishing it yet for that reason. On the other hand, I would not do the past in. It would destroy the books for me and I don't think they could be replaced. However, it is your property, do as you wish.
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marie-antoinette



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 4136
Location: Ottawa, Canada
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 11:13 am Reply with quote
Ah, the cult of the book, still alive and strong. This is why Wreck This Journal is so fun/liberating.

I love books and I wouldn't have a problem with this at all, in fact it definitely sounds like it would improve the reading experience. I've never tried to read a Japanese copy with a separate translation but it definitely sounds like looking back and forth would get tiresome. And sure, so would doing this initially, but if you wanted to re-read something then you could do that much easier.

And honestly people, doing this is just doing the same damn thing the English publishing copies do, just in a not-so-professional manner.
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Chiibi



Joined: 19 Dec 2011
Posts: 4828
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 11:22 am Reply with quote
I'd personally never do it because I also think like the others said, it's defacing the original book....which is just something I couldn't do. Anime hyper

I used to keep binders and translate manga word-for-word on notebook paper during high school. Anime hyper
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hpulley



Joined: 26 Sep 2012
Posts: 408
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 11:27 am Reply with quote
I just read the Japanese. Got tired of reading the interpretations of others...

Only good thing you could do is use high quality stamp collecting hinges which might not mark up the original pages and are removable.
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littlegreenwolf



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 4796
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 4:14 pm Reply with quote
Eh. Well I'm a book lover, but I'm also a person who scanlated manga, and to scan those I had to actually melt the glue off the spine of the book so the pages got loose so... yeah... do whatever you want to your manga. The Japanese volumes are usually really cheap anyway.

I just think it'd be too much effort just to possibly reread it once later one. Sure you're sort of reading it while you fill in the bubbles, but I know I'd get bored. Plus sometimes when you have a script it can be rather confusing as to what line goes in what bubble. Also being an art collector I rather keep the art of the books unblemished, so I'd just stick to seeing if scanlations exist since you own it, or just getting the translation printed out.
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Keichitsu0305





PostPosted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 12:10 pm Reply with quote
Personally, no. Never. Not even if the book costs 99 cents and has been sitting in a box long enough for the paper to yellow. Just...no.

Just like the idea of using corners of a book to 'mark' the last page bugs the heck of me or highlighters in textbooks, print and paste letters into any book just sounds so juvenile to me. I would just copy the translations on to a Word document and save in a Folder titled "Manga Translations." (I should know; I do that for my imports.)

It's like when I was back in high school, one of my former friends used to color in her manga with not crayons or colored pencils but markers (freaking markers) which bleed into the subsequent pages she hadn't read yet. Ugh. The very memory of it makes my inner book lover cry like baby. T__T

But, yeah, whatever floats your boat.
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