Remember the manga advice series that got started last year? Well guess what? I’m doing it again! It was well received, so I did plan on trying to do it again. Unlike last year though, it’s been a bit tougher to get in contact with people. I can only blame my scheduling this year.
Anyways, just like last year the advice series will run every month, during the second Wednesday of the month. That would be today, June 10, July 8, and August 12. The days can easily change, but this is the plan for now. I’ve gotten in touch with three of the same fields as last year, but I do have a new one, most likely to be ready in June.
The one to kick things off this year is translators. It’s always been a subjective thing when it comes to translating manga, so it makes sense to get more thoughts on how tricky it is with these manga translators! The list of translators is as follows:
Jennifer J. Ward (Love and Lies, In a Heartbeat, Peephole)
Elina Ishikawa (Tokyo Mew Mew, Ichiroh!)
Wakana Catchpole (Billion Dogs)
Evan Galloway (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part I, Part II)
How did you get the opportunity to start working as a manga translator?
Jennifer J. Ward: I responded to a Craigslist ad, actually. They were just starting the MangaBox app and they needed a bunch of translator/letterers for it ASAP. I think getting a gig in this way is fairly atypical, though!
Elina Ishikawa: I was actively running a Yahoo! Group, Rosetta Stone Café, which was a mailing list providing latest information on anime and manga, in the early 2000’s when someone there suggested that I translate professionally for the manga industry. So, I started sending my resume out to some publishers and got my first contract with Del Rey Manga in 2006.
Wakana Catchpole: First, I went to a translation school, Japan Visualmedia Translation Academy (JVTA) to study English to Japanese subtitling. While I was going to the school, I found out that they also offered Japanese to English subtitling courses which were not so common at that time. The courses included lessons on how to translate manga as well. So I signed up for that course. Graduates of JVTA who pass the trial examination are offered opportunities to work on translation projects offered by their translation agency department. I passed the exam, then I started working on translating Japanese manga comics along with other projects.
Evan Galloway: My “day job” is actually in the licensing department at VIZ Media. I’m a big JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fan, so when we were discussing releasing Parts 1 and 2, I volunteered to work on it, and as they say, the rest is history! I also work on various smaller in-house translation jobs at VIZ, including interviews with mangaka and some of the authors from our novel imprint, Haikasoru, as well as other miscellaneous jobs that aren’t sizable enough to contact a freelancer for.
What was the biggest misconception you had about the manga industry before you started working in it?
Jennifer: I’m not sure I had any misconceptions about it… I read up about it a lot before I got into it. I read a bunch on the translation industry in general, as I’ve known for years I wanted to be a translator, and I knew all about the TOKYOPOP crash and how the manga industry in general was struggling… I knew it would not be daisies and roses. I guess the thing that surprised me most about the job itself, though, is the fact that translators have quite a lot of freedom in terms of ignoring input from the editors. You can contest everything they say. I wouldn’t necessarily say that’s a good idea, and I usually accept all their edits, but a stubborn translator could conceivably ignore quite a lot.
Elina: I didn’t realize that I don’t work closely with copy editors or letterers and that I had to be detailed in my script for them to know the correct placement of my translation on pages. Many times I would find those mistakes after the books get published.
Wakana: This might not happen so often, but since I was taught to read the whole series before we start working on the translation, I assumed everything I’ll be translating will have already been published in Japan and on the market. But I quickly learned that’s not always the case.
Evan: There’s a reason why it takes so long for manga to get an official English release. There are tons of variables and moving parts involved in creating a single volume of manga. Many fans assume that translation cost is the biggest prohibiting factor in whether or not a series gets brought over, but in reality, it’s only a small part of the big picture! It costs a lot to produce a physical product and distribute it, so we need to have a decent expectation for how a series is going to sell before we choose to license it.
Additionally, if an idea crossed your mind as a fan (whether it be “they should release this series!” or “they should release that series in this format!”), chances are that we’re either trying to make it happen, or unfortunately, it’s just not feasible (either financially or logistically) for us to do it…
What’s generally the biggest challenge you face when translating a manga?
Jennifer: The biggest challenge in translating… is definitely speech mannerisms. I’ve done a couple harem manga, and they’re all over the place in harem titles. I did one where there was a “desuuu” girl, a loli who talked like an old man, a vampire chick who spoke in a hyper-formal tone, a tomboy character who used “ore”, and twins with a Kansai accent. The one I could not do anything with was the loli. There’s no equivalent to “talking like an old man” in English. I tried to get across that she’s a precocious child, but even that is nigh impossible. And then in one chapter they did some wordplay with her “old man” ending particle and I was like “How do I deal with this??” I basically had to re-write the joke. It still bugs me that I couldn’t think up anything for her, even now.
Elina: Slangs and abbreviations… I hate them. I try my best to keep up with them by reading blogs and websites in Japan, but even my cousin, who lives in Japan, says she can’t keep up with the slangs. And Japanese people love to abbreviate everything including names and titles. I would spend countless hours looking for them on Google and that takes away a lot of time from translating.
Wakana: Well, for example, in Japanese you can’t always tell if something is singular or plural. And with my very first project, still on-going, is web-based and it’s only published 10 pages at a time. For some things, the client can tell us what that some things are, but most of the time, they don’t or they can’t. So, I have to think about every possible story line comes ahead from the point I’m working on, and that’s hard.
Evan: I definitely underestimated how hard it would be to adequately convey manga onomatopoeia in English! There’s a ton of those suckers in JoJo, and Araki-sensei is masterful at coming up with unique ways of expressing what’s happening in a panel with them! Sometimes it’s hard to do them justice in translation, but I give it my best shot with each volume.
Name three skills or the most important skill an aspiring translator should have to break into the industry.
Jennifer: Be on time, be available, and be flexible. That is to say, hand in your projects on time (earlier is better!), have a smartphone on you so you can respond to emails at any time and be ready to work at any time. Be prepared to work 10 hour days and weekends when there is a tough deadline because a month from now your work may dry up. In the translation industry they describe this as “boom and bust.”
Many times you will have a very small window to respond to an opportunity for work. You must reply to those emails within the hour or you have a good chance of getting bumped off. But if you reply fast and can squeeze last-minute jobs into your schedule you will become invaluable to your clients and they will start to prioritize you.
Elina: Obviously being proficient in Japanese and having a good knowledge of Japanese culture are important, but being detail-oriented is necessary, too. You have to be willing to do a lot of research in many fields such as world history and literature and science.
Wakana: Have good language skills, pay attention to details, and be familiar with the tone of any manga are the obvious skills, but I have different ideas. This applies to any industry, but loving manga, showing how much you want to translate it and sticking with it might be something translators should have to break into the industry. I see people who always talk about the genre they want to work on and how much they love it, and they always seem to get the job in the end.
Evan: (1) Stick-to-itiveness: Translation is a laborious process. Sometimes when you’re mowing your way through a volume, your brain starts to feel like it could start oozing out of your ears at any given moment. My advice is to take a deep breath, grab a cup of tea, unwind for a minute, and get back to it.
(2) Being accepting of criticism: Regardless of what direction you take with your translation, not everyone is going to be completely satisfied with the finished product, and there will likely be a few passionate fans out there who will be extremely vocal about that. Don’t let it get you down! Translation is like an asymptote; you might be able to approach that “perfect” translation, but you’ll never quite be able to get there. You have a finite amount of time to touch up your work before it gets passed on to the next person within the production process, so take criticism on the chin and keep on doing the best job you can.
(3) A tendency to explain your reasoning (when appropriate): It can be hard to convey certain lines or concepts in another language and you might not always be completely confident that you did a good job of it. Know your limits, and when in doubt, write up a note to your editor explaining exactly what you did with your localization and why you did it. Let them make the final call.
What has been your toughest moment in the industry and why?
Jennifer: I had a tight deadline on a multi-volume project and then the client changed their minds and decided they wanted to bump up the deadline and have us hand it in even earlier. At the same time I felt pressured to accept other projects and did not say no when I should have. I was really stressed out for a few months. Sometimes you have no learn when to say no.
Elina: I had a publisher who wouldn’t respond to my e-mails. I seriously needed them to contact the Japanese publisher or the manga creator to answer my questions in order to complete my work, but I never heard from her. So, I had to submit my script incompleted with notes instead. I thought that was unprofessional of me and the publisher.
Wakana: Japanglish phrases that sound really interesting and cool, but don’t make sense in English. One example I can think of was when a manga had a Japanese English phrase as a subtitle, and I was asked for several different title ideas. So I sent them a list of possible titles. The job went on, and I found out later that they decided to go with the original Japanese English subtitle when it was published! The thing was that the phrase kept popping up in the story, so I really had to think hard what to do with it for the entire series. I did understand why they wanted it that way, but I also knew how it would sound like to native English speakers.
Evan: It’s hard to think of a particular moment. Overall speaking, though, working in translation doesn’t always feel “rewarding” in the moment, so it can be tough to persevere through that feeling. In the end, it’s a wonderful payoff to see your work transform into a finished product.
What would be the best way for an aspiring translator to break into the manga industry?
Jennifer: For translators…your best bet is to just email any publishers or agencies you want to work for with your resume. They’ll reply with a translation test and if you do well on it you will have the opportunity to work for them. They might ignore your resume if you don’t have experience, though. Before I started translating/lettering, I worked as a CIR on the Jet Programme… I recommend it if you’re a fresh grad looking for Japan-related work experience.
I also did *ahem* scanlate doujinshi when I was in university. I did all the scanning, cleaning, lettering and translation all by myself. It was good practice, and it taught me a lot about Photoshop. I’m entirely self-taught as a letterer, and I think scanlation is a great way to learn lettering especially.
Elina: Network by going to anime and comic conventions and meeting the publishers. Participating in translation contests to get your name known will help, too.
Wakana: Go to a translation school! That worked for me. I can only imagine other ways. It’s the same way you find any other job. Practice translating manga, build a portfolio of your sample translations, look up translation agencies focusing on manga, or publishers of translated manga, and contact them with your portfolio.
Evan: Get professional translation experience any way you can so you can have reputable references and a good portfolio to back your word up, even if it isn’t working with manga. It doesn’t matter how “amazing” you are at translating if an editor won’t give you a chance because s/he doesn’t know whether you’re a total flake or not when it comes to making deadlines. Once you have experience, go out and make some industry contacts! Our editors often attend conventions, so drop by and introduce yourself. Be professional, but not pushy. Chances are that they don’t need a translator right now, but they might in the future, so when they remember you and look you up, make sure they’re impressed by what they find.
Additionally, while certifications like the JLPT aren’t the be all and end all of what qualifies you to do this kind of work, in my opinion, if your Japanese proficiency isn’t up to snuff to where you could pass N1, you likely have no business translating in a professional capacity.
What manga have you most enjoyed working on and why?
Jennifer: I really liked doing “In a Heartbeat” on MangaBox. I picked it up a few chapters in after another translator left the project. I do like BL, and that’s the only one I’ve had the chance to do thus far. Also… that manga had lots of pages with big art and very little dialogue, haha. It was easy to letter and fast to translate. I love doing titles with lots of big, wordless full-page spreads and few SFX!
Elina: Kodoku no Gourmet (“Solitary Gourmet”). I love food so much so that I have a friend who complains that I’m always talking about food. Kodoku no Gourmet gave me a chance to become familiar with some ethnic foods and even Japanese dishes I didn’t know about.
Wakana: I like everything equally. But I like “Billion Dogs” which I’m working on with another translator now. The illustrations are very nice, and we have no idea where the story is going, which makes it all the more exciting.
Evan: JoJo has been an absolute blast to work on. I also translated several of the finalists’ work for the Shonen Jump Manga Competition and walked away incredibly impressed with what those amateur contestants were able to put together. Manga definitely has a bright future.
Finally, how has working on manga changed how you view manga in general?
Jennifer: I have a less rosy-eyed view of manga in general. As a fan, you read only the manga you like, so you have the impression that all manga is awesome. If you’re in the industry, you do whatever work you can get, and you realize that not all manga are Tezuka-level of quality. You’ll do genres you don’t like and titles you think are boring. It kind of drains the magical feeling away from manga. I also hardly read manga for fun anymore, since I’m looking at it all day at work. I ESPECIALLY can’t read manga in English anymore because I just zoom in on every detail. “That line is awkward” or “that font is too large” or “I can see your bad clone brushing.” It even happens when I’m watching subbed anime with my boyfriend. I get so critical, I can’t help it!
Elina: It sort of became an occupational hazard to me. I can’t help thinking how I’m going to translate a dialog while I’m reading manga.
Wakana: Now when I read manga, I constantly think about how I would translate whatever I’m reading. I try to read the English version, too, if it’s available.
Evan: I really started to appreciate how much work and thought goes into every aspect of production. It’s easy to sit back and be an armchair critic of the industry, but after having worked in it, it’s full of passionate, forward-thinking people that strive to bring you a quality product.