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penguintruth
Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:38 pm
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The original novels were rather poorly written, if you ask me. Tomino included a lot of interesting information that wasn't in the series, but he was trying too hard to be serious and the ending was terrible. Not to mention the prose itself was pretty weak. Tomino is a good director, not a writer.
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captainbanana
Joined: 20 Feb 2009
Posts: 191
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Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:10 am
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penguintruth wrote: | The original novels were rather poorly written, if you ask me. Tomino included a lot of interesting information that wasn't in the series, but he was trying too hard to be serious and the ending was terrible. Not to mention the prose itself was pretty weak. Tomino is a good director, not a writer. |
Have you read the Japanese version? The translation was hospital room sterile, but I've heard that the original wasn't. If you are fluent in Japanese, and have read it though, I'm not in a position to say one way or the other. I actually liked the novels, if not the ending particularly, but obviously the nature of fandom is that agreements are hard to come by.
I've read three or four translated chapters of Beltorchika's Children, and I found his style to be excellent (translation done by someone with the literary chops to properly convey the meaning of sentences compared to the literal and sterile translation). I'd love to read the rest, but there is no chance of that ever happening. Overall, I was talking more about the underlying world in the novel that draws me in and makes the novel worthy to be on the same shelf as the western greats of Sci-Fi, more so than the writing style. Then again, as mentioned, since I can't actually read what he has written, it is very hard to make that judgment.
(My preferred canon is 0079 Movies > Side Stories > Zeta > Double Zeta > Beltorchika's Children, even if Bandai wants anything animated to wipe out anything written or in manga form)
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penguintruth
Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
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Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:18 am
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Oh, so Tomino's a better writer than the official English translation of those first novels let on? As much as I'd love to be able to read Japanese, I'm not likely to learn it any time soon, and certainly not to understand a giant robot novel.
I still dislike Amuro dying in the novels. And his relationship with Sayla, too. And the lack of the Earth arc. My favorite version of the original series is either the movies or Yas' Origin. God, I love Yas.
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captainbanana
Joined: 20 Feb 2009
Posts: 191
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Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 3:18 pm
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penguintruth wrote: | Oh, so Tomino's a better writer than the official English translation of those first novels let on? As much as I'd love to be able to read Japanese, I'm not likely to learn it any time soon, and certainly not to understand a giant robot novel.
I still dislike Amuro dying in the novels. And his relationship with Sayla, too. And the lack of the Earth arc. My favorite version of the original series is either the movies or Yas' Origin. God, I love Yas. |
That's what I have been told from people I've met that have read both the English translation and the original. I'd love to be able to read Japanese as well, but it's never going to happen. Judging the original author by the translation feels a lot to me like how people never gave Asian cinema (like the works of Kurosawa) a chance because of the ridiculous dub overs that they were so intent on making for so many years. As someone that can remember the awful subtitle translations on anime, I don't put a lot of stock into the accuracy of the novel. Then again, he might be a great translator, and the material could just be sterile. I'd love to find out, but honestly, the three gundam novels are 500 pages that I never in a million years thought I'd ever get to read in English. I'm happy enough just to have a translation period.
I much prefer the movie and the series to the novel. When you combine the finer details given in the book with everything presented in the series though, I think it really becomes something special. Though obviously the novels are as far from the "official" canon as you can get.
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