User:Larethian

STATUS ANNOUNCEMENT

Working on things slowly. I'm expecting to complete Itsuten v3, Daiden v3, and baka test v4 chapter 2 by end of the year. --larethian 16:42, 8 August 2011 (UCT)

Profile

Gender: Male

Location: Depends, mostly Asia

Hobbies / Interests: Learning new stuff about Japan and Japanese, Anime, Manga, Light Novels, Games, etc.

Languages:

1. English (Near native level, though I may have a problem with long sentences and alternative words without a thesaurus. Strangely, this only happens when I'm translating when my mind is mostly in Jap mode, that's why I still need editors.)

2. Chinese (My mother-tongue but only somewhat near native level but weaker than my English)

3. Japanese (JLPT2)

4. French, Cantonese, Malay (a few sentences that can help me survive in France, Hong Kong, and Malaysia / Indonesia)

Favourites:

1. Manga: One Piece

2. Anime: Gundam 00

3. Light Novel: Suzumiya Haruhi

4. Gundam: ZGMF-X10A Freedom

5. Movie: LOTR

Email: [email protected]

Primary Projects on Baka-Tsuki

1. Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi [Supervisor; Translator: Japanese to English] [TORTOISE PACE] (002)

2. Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu (a.k.a The Legend of the Legendary Heroes) [Supervisor; Translator: Japanese to English] [SNAIL PACE] (001)

Internal Collaborative Projects on Baka-Tsuki

1. Baka to Tesuto to Shoukanjuu [Translator: Japanese to English] [Stalled] (004)

Backburner Projects on Baka-Tsuki

1. Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai [Japanese to English Translation] (Stalled) (003)

Possible Project Interest on Baka-Tsuki

1. Shakugan no Shana [Japanese to English Translation]

2. Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai [Japanese to English Translation]

3. Seitokai no Ichizon [Japanese to English Translation]

4. Rental Magica [Japanese to English Translation]

Other Projects I have Contributed To

1. Fortune Arterial Visual Novel (PC) [Japanese to English Translation] (external project) (personal hiatus; not project hiatus)

2. Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi Manga [Japanese to English Translation] (external project)

To-Do List

1. larethian's Itsuten Todo List

Translation Portfolio

Light Novels

• Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu
  • Volume 1 (FULL)
  • Volume 2
    • Chapter 1
    • Chapter 2
    • Chapter 3
    • Chapter 4
  • Volume 3
    • Chapter 1

• Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu
  • Volume 6
    • Prologue
  • Volume 10
    • Chapter 5

• Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi
  • Volume 1 (FULL)
  • Volume 2 (FULL)
  • Volume 3
    • Prologue 1
    • Chapter 1
  • Volume 4
    • Prologue
    • Epilogue

• Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai
  • Volume 5
    • Chapter 4

• Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju
  • Volume 4
    • The First Question

• Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
  • Volume 2
    • Takayama Maria (& Kobato Joining Flag ①)

Manga

• Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi (by imangascans)
  • Volume 2
    • Chapter 9
    • Chapter 10
    • Chapter 12

Visual Novels

• Fortune Arterial
  • Sendou Erika Route
    • FA10010
    • FA10020

FAQ & Comments on Comments from 4ch and Everywhere Else Where I Don't Post

This is an ongoing compilation of questions I've received or comments I've spotted on the web. If you have more questions or comments, you can PM me or use my talk page. Don't try to edit my user page or you'll be banned with my sysop demigod powers. I made this so that you small fries anons or whoever you are can direct people to this page and reduce the amount of spam on the web (Jeez, I'm so noble *_*).

Why are there no updates for XXXXXX for so long?

Firstly, 'long' to me means months. If you're waiting for less than a month, this question is invalid. I'm usually always working on something though. Check this page every now and then for what I'm doing. There are also times when I get suck into real life for a variety of reasons (usually work related ones). Also, note that I have only 2 main projects I'm interested in: Denyuuden & Itsuten. All other projects are breathers, so if there are no updates from me for those projects, there obviously won't be anymore until further notice. Additionally, I'm self-employed and need to eat and be able to provide for my future family or I'll get dumped.

If I pay you or collect a donation, will that help you translate Denyuuden (or other projects) faster?

Don't even think about it. Translation will always be a hobby to me - a reason for me to practice my Japanese and to spread my love for KAgaMI's works - and there's no way I'll wrap up my business if translation starts paying me, erm, pennies? Actually, that's not the main issue. Technically speaking, translation without permission already potentially falls under copyright infringement even with the US Fair Use Act. While I do not see a potential English market for most LNs (factor 4 of Fair Use for consideration even if it's not published in the market), especially with respect to KAgaMI's works because of how they are written (making it hard to render into proper English), it'd hard to satisfy factor 3 if we're trying to finish the series. Collecting money will blatantly violate factor 1, and essentially rob the author of potential profits and profiting off the author without his permission, which is not my (our) intent at all. I strongly disapprove of any forms of donations or payment to anyone who solicits them for translating Denyuuden or Itsuten, or other LNs for the matter.

Your translation feels weird in language and flow.

Firstly, I've stopped reading English fiction since college days, and the right word doesn't come to me at times, though I believe I've managed it well most of the time. Secondly, I do not claim to be an expert in academic, written grammar. My first translations will also suck more since I tend to be more literal. Recently, however, I've tried to become more localized and native-like in terms of sentence structuring, paraphrase more, and avoid third-person address towards the second person (if I can remember). I also tend to retain honorific addresses in first person non-narrative POV, and avoid translating cultural references and words.

However, with regards to Denyuuden and Itsuten, there is a severe limitation to what I can do. Firstly, a key common difficulty across all Japanese Light Novels is that, because of the flexibility of conjugating words in Japanese, a Japanese sentence can be long and highly descriptive in all the participating subjects and objects in the sentence. English pales in comparison to Japanese in this respect. And as I'm quite resistant to the thought of splitting up phrases into sentences (though I occasionally still do to avoid ambiguity), I tend to use a lot of 'which', 'where', 'who/whom', 'that', commas, and the possessive 's, which can make the sentences description heavy in an unnatural way.

Secondly, while KAgaMI is not highly skilled in writing like Nishio or Takahashi, he does have a unique style that works for his novels. The main technique he uses is sentence fragmentation which serves 2 purposes: Emphasis and Foreshadowing. Emphasis in repetition of words or partial sentences deliver a stronger impact. With respect to foreshadowing, a partial sentence is delivered which makes the reader think or serves as an appetizer. What follows may be a full sentence derived from the previous partial sentence that strengthens the impact in full course, or completely twists the anticipated meaning of the sentence by taking advantage of some Japanese grammatical construct. Taking into account that English is a SVO (Subject Verb Object) language and Japanese is a SOV language (on top of its conjugating flexibility), it is extremely difficult to render the translations into academically grammatically correct English with proper flow, since it is normal for Japanese to wait patiently for the main 'action verb' to be delivered at the end, and quite abnormal for English speakers. Sometimes, I take the care to rewrite the sentence, then re-fragment it, but sometimes I do it sloppily because otherwise, my translation speed will suffer a lot. You have to live with that if you want anything significant to get done for my projects. Another possibility is to cut the fragmentations. I did try privately and in my personal humble opinion, I find this to be a worse choice, because KAgaMI's story becomes less dynamic and more stale with the missing impact derived from the fragmentation. That's why I seldom do it.

Why did you sacrifice Denyuuden for shit like Itsuten?

You didn't realize Itsuten is written by the same author? Itsuten's anime may be shit but the real story is far from shit. Both Denyuuden and Itsuten have roughly the same theme (characters having insane shit happen to them and their struggle against seemingly unconquerable despair and seemingly unavoidable doom), much influenced by the author's past, but they are presented in different ways. The author, KAgaMI had said that he wrote them to give hope to those who are struggling or in shit situations of despair like he used to be, so I believe both stories will have a happy ending in the end (hopefully). Denyuuden is still my favorite with superior characterization even for the large cast of supporting characters, and the very mature plot and setting given by the tons of back stories. Itsuten however, considering that it has only 8 volumes to date for the main story, is superior in twists and shocking revelations. Denyuuden made me awestruck while Itsuten made me dumbstruck (with every volume after volume 5). The point is, contrary to popular myth, despite its cliche and facepalming romance situations and lines (which were done on purpose actually), Itsuten is far from shit and I'm taking advantage of the parallel airing of the anime to create a reader base. I'll probably juggle between the two more evenly after Summer 2011 (counting by Japan anime seasons).

Will you finish Denyuuden and Itsuten?

I honestly don't know. Given that I'll be taking a major step back from translating sometime in 2012 due to changing priorities in RL, I might still work on it slowly, but no promises (so it's quite unlikely to finish by myself). Just continue spreading KAgaMI cult and look out for potential translators. Or go learn Moon dammit! (That'd actually be faster.) Or if I suddenly become very rich and have $20 mil worth of net assets (then I can spend more time in translating XD).

How much Moon do I need to know to translate Denyuuden or Itsuten?

The moon runes used by KAgaMI is actually very, very easy. A level equivalent to N4 can probably enable you to understand about 70% of the story. Except for the potential difficulty described in (3), you're good to go if you're around N3 level (there are mock and past year papers available which you can test yourself if you don't intend to sit for the actual paper) with a healthy regular exposure to Moon media. If you work sufficiently hard and consistently, it is realistic to reach this level of proficiency within a year. But I must warn you the real challenge is not the language, given the abundant resources and experts we have around here, plus a willing proof-reader (me), but perseverance in putting in consistent effort. However, every chapter helps. So if you just want to do 1 chapter, do feel free.

Will you still be working on Oreimo?

No. Well, I like to finish what I started, so if no one is taking over Volume 4 chapter 3, I might finish it, one day. As to when that day would be, I have no idea. Other than that, as much as I love this novel, I have no plans to work on Oreimo anymore, unless I become very rich suddenly and have $20 mil worth of net assets (as above).

Will you still be working on Baka Test?

Like I said, I like to finish what I started. I'll try to finish volume 4, either by this year or by March next year. However, if Teh Ping or any other translator wants to, he or she can take over any unregistered chapters in volume 4. Other than volume 4, I have no further plans to work on Baka Test in future.

How does Denyuuden anime adaptation compare to Itsuten anime adaptation

Denyuuden adaptation is butchered but relatively faithful to the plot. Episode 1 was rehashed from a side story. The real story in the series starts in episode 2. For the first half, it has a decent average of 3 episodes per volume. After Iris's recap story, it became 2.5 episodes per volume and with the final sprint becoming about 2 episodes per volume. Considering the fact that some volumes in the second half are shorter, this is still not too bad. Scenes were cut, explanations were skipped, but the main problem I have towards its butchering is the mowing down of the emotional parts. As I've mentioned before, KAgaMI's story centers around despair in the characters. Many a times, this feeling of despair does not come across that well in the anime as it did in the novels. Kiefer's despair at seeing her sister killed, Ferris's despair in going up against Lieral, Ilna's despair when she asked Ryner to leave her, and a lot more. While I do complain a lot on how parts were mishandled, overall, Denyuuden is 80% faithful to the plot, with 20% of the important stuff cut out or changed. The main problematic changes (to me) are, Ryner's exploding clothes when Sui forced him to awaken, Alpha's design, the ending fight between Sion and Ryner where The Mad Hero was supposed to erase the existence of Izuchi, and the ending of the show with the horse carriage and appearance of Kiefer (this ending is totally not sequel friendly). By the way, contrary to popular myth, the birthday episode is not original, but brought in from a side story, according to Defade.

Itsuten's adaptation in comparison was a total trainwreck. I honestly never knew that Zexcs could do worse. Only the first two episodes were 80% faithful to the source material. The rest of the anime tries to take the plot skeleton and rehash the elements from across the series, adds in a ton of fanservice, and rather than the source content, it uses original content to build the characters, which makes me feel disconnected and alienated. After the massive surgery to date, I can only see about 20 to 30% of the source content left in the anime.