[Kyuuketsuki no Libra TL quality]

On 6/23/2017 at 1:38 AM, Decay said:

Well, like I said, this is uncharacteristic even for a VN with "only" one pass. This should not be blamed on the lack of additional passes, because that would imply that it would be okay with those passes. This is a fundamentally bad translation, and not something you'd want to build off of. It showcases a lack of ability on the part of the translators. And the whole reason Mikandi couldn't afford additional passes in the first place is because the translators grossly overcharged them.

The way a professional VN translation usually works is:

Step 1: Translation. Simple enough. They translate the text and that's it. There is usually only one translator but occasionally there are multiple, working on different parts of the script. Most professional VN companies trust the translators they hire and do not extensively check their work the way many fan translation projects do.
Step 2: Editing. The role of editor varies company to company, script to script. In some places, they are primarily proofreaders, and in other places they work the prose more extensively. And some scripts absolutely require extensive reworking (though ideally, VN companies avoid hiring translators who would write translations that require that). Editors tend to get paid a good deal less than translators.
Step 3: Testing. Again, this varies company to company. Some use testers as proofreaders, others just want them to make sure the program runs bug-free. Testers tend to get paid peanuts. Almost literally.

That's about it. You don't have translators making multiple passes, improving the translation with every step, that just doesn't happen in most cases. In most professional VN translations, the finished script will look very similar to the raw translation, unless something went horribly wrong in the translation phase. If the raw translation reads horribly, then you have a bad translator. I'd say that the only cases where there are multiple real translation passes are cases like Flowers, where the company realizes the translation is fucked and scrambles to fix it.

The translation budget laid out by MIkandi Japan suggests a 9.5 yen per Japanese character total cost for the translation (before it was cut down to one pass). This is maybe two to three times what some of the highest-paying VN companies might pay for translation/editing/etc. That itself isn't all that bad, since VN translation pays a pittance compared to the rest of professional game translation, but when you offer quality that is dramatically lower than the competition while charging multiple times more for your work, there's a big fucking problem.

(also, for the record, around 10 yen per Japanese character translated is what a company like Square Enix or Nintendo might pay a translator for their raw translation.)

(also also, for the record, what 7 Happy Creations was charging for their third pass just might be more than what MangaGamer pays a translator for their raw translation, to give you an idea of how outside the norm these guys were charging.)

tl;dr: This translation blows. Raw translation is not supposed to look like this. 7 Happy Creations are scammers. Mikandi Japan are saps for falling for it.

Just wanted to thank you for your libelous post. Have taken a screenshot and forwarded on to our attorney. If you have a penny to your name we will soon separate you from it. This forum would serve itself well to delete your posts and ban you. You have no idea what happened with the project and you pretend to speak with some sort of authority. I will ask an attorney to sort out your assets and determine if you have anything worth taking.

[onomatope*'s lastest title - Kyuuketsuki no Libra - is coming to Steam]

The best thing a translator can do is to remain true to the original author while writing in a style that is understandable to readers of the language the story is being translated to. English readers from all over the world should be able to understand the translation and get the feeling, flavor and emotion of the original author's intent. This is all we are trying to do.
Again, we only added the desu to lines spoken by Lycorice when she uses it in dialogue where it would not be normally used at the end. When she uses the term in the regular or normal grammatically correct way, we never show it. I agree with Conjureror that the next phase should open the doors for more people to enjoy VN and game work, Manga, etc., work coming out of Japan without ignoring the core fan base.

That's why I agree with Sanahtlig's comment about casting too wide a net. It is why so many Hollywood movies are so awful. But the translation should remain faithful to the original author.

 

[onomatope*'s lastest title - Kyuuketsuki no Libra - is coming to Steam]

Even better: Add an option to display Japanese dialogue instead of English dialogue and leave everything untranslated.  There's no better translation than no translation!

The best translations are works that remain true to the characters and to the dialogue and story lines. The translator is not the artist. The translator is the vehicle for the original artist to be voiced in a new language. Cutting out dialogues or changing stories and characters is absurd and amateurish. Since MG was brought up I've been looking at some of the descriptions and character profiles of the games and VNs. Some are great but many are dreadful. They make no sense in English.

 

Fuwa Elite...thank you for that. 

Pst... "Fuwa Elite" is a title and not a username.

I'm new.

[onomatope*'s lastest title - Kyuuketsuki no Libra - is coming to Steam]

Fuwa Elite...thank you for that. There does need to be something done for the desu repeats (says 2 times). For the singles we are just leaving them out entirely. The issue with replacing the cheerful confirmation of her high tension (hyperactive in a positive way) to herself is that it is one of the markers, only one, that we use to identify the tone of her character. She's trying to be serious but she just is not... lol. That said we may drop the desu completely

There's a girl at our local supermarket who is kinda like Lycorice. She is just past high school age. She is ALWAYS UP and ALWAYS TOO CHEERFUL. Her voice is laced with sugar and she is always trying to ingratiate herself to every...single...fucking...person....she....meets. She means well but... Sometimes I just want to go over to her and find the off switch.

If you are familiar with "Funashi" that is another good comparison.    

[onomatope*'s lastest title - Kyuuketsuki no Libra - is coming to Steam]

Hi

One of the translators on the project here.

We decided to leave the desu in the English version for a couple of reasons.

1. To generate this discussion and see what people have to say. Obviously desugate has really picked up steam. Which is great. Debate shows passion for the art and loving or hating it is a much better response than no response at all. Yes, it is a marketing test. Thank you for participating.

2. Its not so much a verbal tick as it is a mental tick that reveals itself verbally. Lycorice is an interesting and fun character. The desu appears only a short number of times. We present it when she herself repeats it. She says desu once just about all the time. Whats interesting for us is why she says it twice. She is confirming her answer to who she is speaking to. She is confirming to them she understands what they are saying to her but maybe more importantly, she is confirming her response to herself. Yes, there should probably be a footnote about it or have it mentioned in her character profile. She's a couple of beers short of a 6 pack that is true.

I see a lot of Japanese work that completely gets the life sucked out of it by poor translators, translators in a hurry or translators who are not qualified at a cultural and or language level for the work. I think Western audiences deserve better.

About us. We've worked in translation for literary, film, music and television projects both in Japan and in Hollywood. We've been translating for almost 20 years. We are native Japanese and English speakers. We live and work in Tokyo and love Japan. Desu.

KumaDog, desu.

 

[onomatope*'s lastest title - Kyuuketsuki no Libra - is coming to Steam]

Ohhh Myyy!