Mahouka: General

[larethian]

Will you add Hazues teaser too?

I was thinking of translating that from scratch. But I guess I could add it as a teaser link separate from the main series when I get home.

Just a question. For the bunko version, vol 1 and 2 are 入学編(上) and 入学編(下) respectively. Does one need to get both volumes and read the second book immediately after the first to make sense of the story? Or are the two books largely self-conclusive like most light novels?

While v1 ends after a fight scene, it continues on to v2, which starts with the post fight administrative stuff in the same room. I'm not sure what you mean by 'making sense', since there is no complex plot with unguessable plot twists. While the development of a number of things are largely predictable (at least for now), it's still a very enjoyable read for me. It's purely a Shounen Battle series (at least for now). The protagonist is very likeable (at least for me). He's badass, and he keeps getting badder chapter by chapter, and I can tell this is only the very beginning. He's not stupid or an idiot, and he can be somewhat cynical and sarcastic in a fun way. He's also not a pushover. In other words, he's a very Shounen hero. There also does not seem to be any strong emphasis in romance (at least for now). v1 and v2, making up the enrollment arc, seem to be focused in introducing the characters and the setting; with at least a third to half of the text dedicated to describing the operations of magic.

Not counting chapter 0, there are 5 chapters in volume 1:
chapter 1: day 1 (opening ceremony, introducing some characters)
chapter 2: day 2 (introducing hero's master, introducing school setting, and some characters)
chapter 3: day 3 (introducing Student Council, Public Morals & Ethics Committee, and more characters, some antagonistic ones); this is the longest chapter.
chapter 4: day 3 + 4 (introducing hero's other non-combat but yet combat-related skills, plus a very short background intro)
chapter 5: day 4 (club orientation day)

[Doraneko]

I see. Thanks a lot for the follow-up.

The magic academy setting and the fact that the male protagonist widely perceived as being weak is actually a badass reminds me of 機巧少女は傷つかない. Still I am a bit interested.

Btw the latest volume to be released in early December will have 504 pages. Hope that it is not going down the path of Horizon and have 1000+ pages/book in the future volumes.

[Shera]

umm, larethian, can i translate this novel into vietnamese?

[larethian]

umm, larethian, can i translate this novel into vietnamese?

sure, even though there's nothing much to translate lol

I see. Thanks a lot for the follow-up.

The magic academy setting and the fact that the male protagonist widely perceived as being weak is actually a badass reminds me of 機巧少女は傷つかない. Still I am a bit interested.

Btw the latest volume to be released in early December will have 504 pages. Hope that it is not going down the path of Horizon and have 1000+ pages/book in the future volumes.

His increasing badassness is the kind that makes my eyes widen a little, my mouth open a little, grinning a little, and a small murmur of 'Sugee' or 'Kakkee' will escape my lips.

volume 3 has quite a number of pages more than the 1st two volumes as well; there does seem to be an increasing page number trend across the current volumes. I tried to preorder it yesterday along with a few other titles, to ensure I get a copy, but unfortunately, it was not possible as the ISBN number was not released yet.

[Shera]

finished the introduction and chapter 0.

hmm, let's see...

whose systematization as a technology which could be spread among the masses was thought to be an impossible thing.

i dont really get this sentence...

and somehow i think "Magic Expert" is more suitable for "Magic Technician", isnt it?

finally, thanks for your hard work

[larethian]

finished the introduction and chapter 0.

hmm, let's see...

whose systematization as a technology which could be spread among the masses was thought to be an impossible thing.

i dont really get this sentence...

and somehow i think "Magic Expert" is more suitable for "Magic Technician", isnt it?

finally, thanks for your hard work

systematization means "to systematize". Magic is a Supernatural Power that can be 'harnessed', 'organized', 'used', 'applied' in a logical, systematic way as a technology. If you want another less flowery version for easier comprehension:
"whose usage as a technology which could be spread among the masses was thought to be an impossible thing."
--> meaning people once thought that only those born with the power can use magic, and it should be something that cannot propagate through the world through systematization.

The actual word is 魔法技能師, which literally translates to "Magic Technician" or "Magic Technologist". It can also translate more liberally to "Magic Practitioner", among other things. Why I choose Technician is because, (1) in the text, it is described that it can be used and treated as a technology, (2) 魔法技能師 is further contracted to 魔法師, choosing "Magic Technician" makes it easy and fitting to do the same parallel contraction to "Magician" in English.

Another thing, for this sentence: "A "Supernatural Power User" became a "Magic Technician"."
It meant the term "Supernatural Power User" is now known as "Magic Technician" in modern terms (perhaps this requires a change).

By the way, this must be the first teaser that has an alternate language translation LOL.

[Shera]

systematization means "to systematize". Magic is a Supernatural Power that can be 'harnessed', 'organized', 'used', 'applied' in a logical, systematic way as a technology. If you want another less flowery version for easier comprehension:
"whose usage as a technology which could be spread among the masses was thought to be an impossible thing."
--> meaning people once thought that only those born with the power can use magic, and it should be something that cannot propagate through the world through systematization.

thank godness i got this one right while translating

The actual word is 魔法技能師, which literally translates to "Magic Technician" or "Magic Technologist". It can also translate more liberally to "Magic Practitioner", among other things. Why I choose Technician is because, (1) in the text, it is described that it can be used and treated as a technology, (2) 魔法技能師 is further contracted to 魔法師, choosing "Magic Technician" makes it easy and fitting to do the same parallel contraction to "Magician" in English.

Another thing, for this sentence: "A "Supernatural Power User" became a "Magic Technician"."
It meant the term "Supernatural Power User" is now known as "Magic Technician" in modern terms (perhaps this requires a change).

By the way, this must be the first teaser that has an alternate language translation LOL.

Language is really funny lol
In my language, which is somewhat related to Chinese, there is a system that similar to Kanji in Japanese called Sino-Vietnamese. Sino-Vietnamese was derived from Chinese, but was spelled and written differently.
The word "技能師" in Sino-Vietnamese would be "Kĩ năng sư". Vietnamese dont use the word "Kĩ năng sư", but by their literal meaning, it's indeed "technician". The real fun is here. I translated the whole word "魔法技能師" into "Ma pháp sư", which equals "魔法師"; and when the word is deprived to "魔法師", I translated it to "Pháp sư", which equals "法師". Both words are understandable in Vietnamese.
Btw, the word "師" ("Sư" in Vietnamese) means "teacher", "master"...or sth like that. That's why I think "Magic Expert" would be more easy to understand. However, the word "魔法技能師" or "Magic Technician" suit best with the intention of the author.

I have to laugh again, language sure is funny lol

[Darklor]

But I guess I could add it as a teaser link separate from the main series when I get home.

Done. I could win Hazue to do it himself. (Two little teasers isnt bad for a teaser project And you still can retranslate it if you think that this would be necessary.)

The magic academy setting and the fact that the male protagonist widely perceived as being weak is actually a badass reminds me of 機巧少女は傷つかない.

Which series is that?

volume 3 has quite a number of pages more than the 1st two volumes as well; there does seem to be an increasing page number trend across the current volumes. I tried to preorder it yesterday along with a few other titles, to ensure I get a copy, but unfortunately, it was not possible as the ISBN number was not released yet.

Which one? Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei volume 3?

Spoiler! :

This one : # ISBN-10: 4048709984 /# ISBN-13: 978-4048709989 ?

Or did you mean the future volumes after 3?

Or was it about 機巧少女は傷つかない?

Spoiler! :

3 # ISBN-10: 4840140499 /# ISBN-13: 978-4840140492

Ah, or did you mean the Chinese publications?

Spoiler! :

Havent remembered that this was your native language...

[Doraneko]

The magic academy setting and the fact that the male protagonist widely perceived as being weak is actually a badass reminds me of 機巧少女は傷つかない.

Which series is that?

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4706

Lare was only talking about the original Japanese release of Mahouka, btw.

[Darklor]

Huh? But hadnt those a ISBN?

[larethian]

It seems like there's some strange miscommunication going on here that I'm lost. lol

That aside,

*75,943部　11/11/10　18日　魔法科高校の劣等生　3　九校戦編　上

nice numbers.

I'm also happy that Otaria v2 managed to break through 10k in slightly over a week.

[Belgaesh]

Don't know if it's the right place to post this.

Looks like the novel got an manga adaptation, the first one portraits Tatsuya as the MC. There will be another version, which will have Miyuki as the MC.

[Mystes]

Where did you see that?

[larethian]

Tatsuya's version was already out in last month's G-Fantasy. I've read it before my trip to Melbourne. It basically starts in the Nine Schools Battle Chapter in volume 3 of the novels. Then it did a flashback back to volume 1. I didn't know about Miyuki's POV version though. But, I'm not sure whether this story will do well in manga and anime. You can say it's like a Fate Zero, with lots of dialogue and narration between action, many of them explaining the mechanics and what took place in a fight.

[Belgaesh]

Where did you see that?

I saw it in J-Cafe. Here's the topic: http://www.jcafe24.net/index.php/topic,28047.0.html