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Sayonara wo Oshiete's translation has been picked up again!


Zalor

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Seeing as how I have not found any threads about this, I suppose I will make it. Here is my source: link.

"8/13/16 - This project is alive again due to the game getting a port/remake by the original developers, which means we no longer need to ourselves. Specific progress numbers will be added later."

So it has been a couple of months now. 

This is one of my favorite visual novels (I've even done a blog post about it), and for a long time the translation has been stalled because the original game was just really old and outdated. When I emailed the fan translator a year ago asking about why he stopped, he said that the outdated game made it very difficult to insert translated text. So he needed to wait for a new port of the VN in order for him to continue translating. But somewhat recently the company that made the game made a recent remake of it for modern computers. This is double good news since now you can download an up to date release of the game. The original 2001 release of the game can be a bitch to get installed and fully functioning, so this release is much appreciated. Furthermore, this release has allowed the translation project to continue! 

Denpa is an interesting genre of visual novels. And Sayonara wo Oshiete is the quint essential representative of that genre, as it was one of the earlier as well as most polished Denpa VNs. Denpa is a genre that is a little difficult to describe, but it is characterized by having an unreliable narrator whose literal view of the world is untrustworthy and distorted. Meaning as a reader, you have no idea what is reality and what isn't. You see lots of weird imagery and are unsure if the MC is crazy, the world is crazy, or both. Its really fun stuff.

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16 hours ago, Zalor said:

8/13/16 - This project is alive again due to the game getting a port/remake by the original developers, which means we no longer need to ourselves. Specific progress numbers will be added later.

NSFW

Yep, it's a thing.

Actually, the latest update brought quite a widespread attention within the japanese community. I'm glad this translation has resurfaced, since the game really deserves it.

16 hours ago, Zalor said:

Denpa is an interesting genre of visual novels. And Sayonara wo Oshiete is the quint essential representative of that genre, as it was one of the earlier as well as most polished Denpa VNs. Denpa is a genre that is a little difficult to describe, but it is characterized by having an unreliable narrator whose literal view of the world is untrustworthy and distorted. Meaning as a reader, you have no idea what is reality and what isn't. You see lots of weird imagery and are unsure if the MC is crazy, the world is crazy, or both. Its really fun stuff.

And how!

It's actually something, that could be best described along the lines of "seemingly normal characters getting wrapped up in completely unusual occurences". Denpa is where the line between what's real and what's not draws thin and crossing it often means no point of return.

Shizuku started it all and along with Sayonara o Oshiete, Kizuato is another vn worth mentioning.

Edited by Narcosis
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2 hours ago, Narcosis said:

It's actually something, that could be best described along the lines of "seemingly normal characters getting wrapped up in completely unusual occurences". Denpa is where the line between what's real and what's not draws thin and crossing it often means no point of return.

Shizuku started it all and along with Sayonara o Oshiete, Kizuato is another vn worth mentioning.

I'm generally not into figure collecting, but I really want that! Also, I agree with you. Having "seemingly normal characters" is an important part of Denpa. Your definition is a really good one. 

2 hours ago, Zenophilious said:

Moving this thread to Fan TL Discussion~

Is Saya no Uta a pretty good example of denpa?  I haven't really had much exposure to denpa in general.

Have to agree with Narcosis here. Saya no Uta has some Denpa elements, but isn't quite it. For me, an important part of Denpa is inconsistency and distortion in how a character sees the world. In Saya no Uta, Fuminori may see the world inaccurately. But he consistently sees the world in that one way, and he is fully aware of it. Saya no Uta would be more denpa if for example Fuminori sometimes saw the world normally and sometimes did not, and this switching between the two would happen seemingly randomly with little consistency.   

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8 minutes ago, Zalor said:

Have to agree with Narcosis here. Saya no Uta has some Denpa elements, but isn't quite it. For me, an important part of Denpa is inconsistency and distortion in how a character sees the world. In Saya no Uta, Fuminori may see the world inaccurately. But he consistently sees the world in that one way, and he is fully aware of it. Saya no Uta would be more denpa if for example Fuminori sometimes saw the world normally and sometimes did not, and this switching between the two would happen seemingly randomly with little consistency.   

Saya no Uta differs in a way, reader is clearly given an explanation, why Fuminori sees the world like that. In denpa-type stories, that does not happen and when it does, it doesn't until the story develops or even ends. Nothing is ever explained in a concise manner and you're only given vague hints, which are often misleading and tend to carry readers astray. Points of view shift, world becomes distorted - you never know exactly when and how. It is up to you to piece everything together and find a solid ground to thread upon... that is, if you can; the very best works in that genre won't allow you that, forever toying with your perception.

Edited by Narcosis
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2 hours ago, Narcosis said:

Saya no Uta differs in a way, reader is clearly given an explanation, why Fuminori sees the world like that. In denpa-type stories, that does not happen and when it does, it doesn't until the story develops or even ends. Nothing is ever explained in a concise manner and you're only given vague hints, which are often misleading and tend to carry readers astray. Points of view shift, world becomes distorted - you never know exactly when and how. It is up to you to piece everything together and find a solid ground to thread upon... that is, if you can; the very best works in that genre won't allow you that, forever toying with your perception.

Yeah, I think we agree on this. That's what makes Denpa so much fun. Things don't make much sense and you desperately try to piece clues together before eventually you realize how futile it is to do so, and just give up and enjoy the ride. The only way to really understand it is to experience it, which is why I can't wait for this VN to be translated so Western VN fans can really experience Denpa. As it stands, I am not sure if there are any translated Denpa titles. I think Umineko might be slightly denpa, but I haven't read it so I don't know. And I'm not sure if Higurashi counts either (I only watched the anime so I haven't read the VN). 

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It's a shame that after writing Sayooshi Ishino Michiho practically disappear from the market, he really did a good job and his writing build a very good atmosphere together with the orange art.

I think that we not have a real denpa title translated already, but some titles that employ some denpa elements like Divi-Dead, Saya no Uta and Higurashi.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/5/2017 at 5:01 PM, Zalor said:

Have to agree with Narcosis here. Saya no Uta has some Denpa elements, but isn't quite it. For me, an important part of Denpa is inconsistency and distortion in how a character sees the world. In Saya no Uta, Fuminori may see the world inaccurately. But he consistently sees the world in that one way, and he is fully aware of it. Saya no Uta would be more denpa if for example Fuminori sometimes saw the world normally and sometimes did not, and this switching between the two would happen seemingly randomly with little consistency.   

So basically, denpa is this trope?  Sounds good to me.  I'm pretty sure we've never gotten anything like that in English before, or I probably would have played it by now.

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1 hour ago, Nandemonai said:

So basically, denpa is this trope?  Sounds good to me.  I'm pretty sure we've never gotten anything like that in English before, or I probably would have played it by now.

Yesterday upon the stair
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today
Oh how I wish he'd go away.

                                         — Hughes Mearns

 

Yes, preety much, although this man would most propably talk to you and told you the world is just about to end and he needs your help to stop it from happening, because you're the chosen one :scottsune:

This is the denpa trope in a nutshell, although there's a couple of variations. "Through the eyes of madness" is one of them and that one will be more familiar to people who played Saya no Uta. There are also games that talk about being influenced through strange powers - most typically, it's either the "electromagnetic waves", the true trope namer, aliens or some strange artifacts (sealed evil in a can etc). Denpa stories typically dwelve deep into human psyche, often portraying characters who remain torn between two (or even more) planes of existence and most typically, have problems with distinguishing between or even acknowledging the reality (as in, what is trully "real" and what is not?). As the trope namer suggests, those people seem to "receive" and perceive the world on a different frequency than the rest around them. Tinfoil hats are highly encouraged, if you don't plan on losing yourself :makina:

Edited by Narcosis
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