J-E translator (Torture Princess, The Eminence in Shadow 2+, High School Prodigies LN, Spy Classroom, Heaven's Feel 3), board game addict, generally solid bloke
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Anonymous Coward asked 4 months ago
when do you think eng spy classroom releases would catch up the ori release?
Probably not until after the series finishes, tbh. The JP releases come out about every 3 months (only 2 months between 9 and SS4), so I'd need to translate at least a book a month to gain ground on Spy Classroom while keeping up with my other series, which a) I can't do, at least not for any sustained amount of time, and b) would rely on Yen wanting to put the EN books out that fast anyways, which I think is unlikely.
Anonymous Coward asked 4 months ago
its probably not your decision but somehow if the fairy knight lives by old rules get translated i hope youre the translator (gives me both spy classroom and eminence vibes)
Haven't read it, but it seems cool! I'm probably not picking up a new series any time soon (I've still got two volumes of Prodigies left to translate, and that plus Spy Classroom x3 and The Eminence in Shadow x2 is keeping me pretty busy), but I'll be sure to give it a look if a publisher offers it to me.
Anonymous Coward asked 5 months ago
eminence is weird in a kind of good way in the way i keep thinking why is cid doing whatever he does
sir this is a wendy's
Anonymous Coward asked 5 months ago
What's your impression about the Spy Classroom anime other than the fun Erna bits? My impression is that the pacing is so weird. One is too slow and the next ep is too fast? How do you feel about translating all the LN, manga and anime? I like the novels the most for obvious reasons, but the manga kind of spilled the Erna bits and the anime's pacing is so weird.
I'm gonna level with you, I'm enjoying the Spy Classroom anime far too much to evaluate it through any sort of objective lens. I do agree that the novels are probably the best entry point into the series (the manga and anime both had to make substantial sacrifices to get around and accomodate the v1 twist, respectively), but I like all three of them a lot.
Anonymous Coward asked 5 months ago
Did the S.C anime staffs consulted you when they used your code name translations? Or do they have the rights to keep your translation since it's the same series? If it's a series where the LN and anime translators are the same, do they get to keep the LN names / stuff names too?
Did the S.C anime staffs consulted you when they used your code name translations? Or do they have the rights to keep your translation since it's the same series?
Homie, I'm a freelancer. As soon as I ship my manuscripts off to my editor, my interaction with the business end of things is over and done.
If it's a series where the LN and anime translators are the same, do they get to keep the LN names / stuff names too?
Even when the translators aren't the same, they'll often get sent the LN term sheet or at least reference the English LNs as they're working. When I started translating the Spy Classroom anime, Sentai actually sent me a copy of my own LN term sheet. That gave me a bit of a chuckle, but it was nice to know that even a different translator would have had the tools to maintain consistency with the light novels.
Anonymous Coward asked 5 months ago
What was the most difficult part of Spy Classroom to translate
One of the things that makes Spy Classroom tricky to translate is how often the latest book will recontextualize past events, as well as how the etymology of terms often doesn't get explain until well, well after the first time those terms show up. It's one of the big reason I make sure to read each new JP volume as soon as it comes out—the new content often informs my decisions.
One major example I can think of is Monika's code name, which doesn't get explained until a full eight books after it first shows up (and a year after I locked in my v1 translation) and which I definitely would have translated differently knowing what I know now. In situations like those, I basically just have to guess what if anything Takemachi is planning on using those terms for. Sometimes I end up getting it right and breathe a sigh of relief, sometimes I don't and have to twist the explanation into pretzels reconciling it with a term that doesn't really align with the JP text.
Anonymous Coward asked 5 months ago
Has translating novel made them more or less enjoyable for you and why?
Some of column A, some of column B. I do a lot less reading for pleasure these days (I think Muramasa is the first VN I've read since like...2020, and I used to go through like 5-6 a year), but I enjoy what I do read a lot more, as having written so much prose myself now gives me a much better appreciation for when other people do it well.
Anonymous Coward asked 5 months ago
The tagline for vol. 9 of Spy Classroom is "last name garakuta", then is it safe to assume Spy Classroom would have probably only 7 more volumes (discounting SS volumes)?
The v9 subtitle is Last Code Garakuta (~rubbish/junk/scrap), not Last Name Garakuta. That said, the v8 afterword said that the story was about to enter its second half, so there's still a good chance it's going to end at 16 mainline books.
Anonymous Coward asked 5 months ago
are translators for LNs chosen by the authors themselves? do translators usually consult their translation with the og author or contact even outside trans?
Nah. For better or for worse, there's a whole host of middlemen between the translators and the author at every step of the process.
Anonymous Coward asked 5 months ago
new here but you have okinawan family? then hiroshi is your real middle name?
yeah it's on my birth certificate and everything
Anonymous Coward asked 5 months ago
Idk if youre allowed to say it, but are you contracted exclusively to Yen Press? and the anime related to Yen Press releases?
Nah, I'm a freelancer, so I can translate for whoever I want. For example, my work on the Spy Classroom anime has essentially nothing to do with Yen Press (I reached out to Sentai when I found out they had the license and was like, "hey, I translated the books, want me to do the subs too?" and they were like, "sure").
Anonymous Coward asked 5 months ago
Random: is Takemachi a woman? I know that Tomari is a woman (if I'm not wrong). Not that it matters a lot, but say 10 years ago almost every famous LN author was a man, so when I heard someone loke 86's Asato Asato was a woman I get really proud somehow.
As far as I know, there is no public information about Takemachi's gender. If you're in the market for a fantastic light novel written by a woman, though, have you considered reading Torture Princess by Keishi Ayasato? (not biased) (okay, slightly biased)
Anonymous Coward asked 5 months ago
Will you be keeping the name Annette for the subs, or will you instead follow Annett since the anime website uses that spelling? Also a bit unconcerned to you but I was curious, is there anywhere I could buy the Spy Classroom v2 Grete cover (not the Annett-dressing up Grete)? Thank you
I can't talk specifics, but in general I'm going to be striving for as much consistency with the English light novel terminology and spellings as I can get. As far as the Grete cover goes...good luck? It isn't available at all in English, and from what I understand, the Japanese version is something of a collector's item.
Anonymous Coward asked 5 months ago
Do you have LN/manga/anime recs that divide stories per arcs (per person)? Like Monogatari (Hitagi Crab, Mayoi Maimai, and so on), Aobuta (Bunny Girl Senpai, Petite Devil Kouhai, and so on), Spy Classroom (Lily, Grete, and so on). I really like when the cast is an ensemble but a lot of times they just don't have enough developments in the story and an arc system really helps from what I've read and watched.
Have you tried looking into visual novels? That sort of story structure is a pretty big staple in the medium (Grisaia, Majikoi, Sakura no Uta, etc).
Anonymous Coward asked 6 months ago
Roughly following the path of the questions asked before, which maybe would make you disappointed to see more of these, do you happen to have any tips or recommendations for anyone who wants to start learning japanese?
Maybe it's something you think heavily depends on the person, in which case, what might be something that anyone who's thinking about learning it could benefit from having or hearing? It could be a specific book (or a set of them) or an idea we're supposed to have in mind, whatever
A couple pieces of advice for people who want to learn Japanese (or anything, really):
Figure out what learning methods work best for you. There's a thousand ways to skin a cat, and there's a thousand ways to pick up a new skill. For example, self-study can and does work for plenty of people, whereas other people benefit a lot from learning in more structured environments like community college classes.
Try to have specific goals. Learning for the sake of learning is all well and good, but having something you're working towards can be really important for preventing burnout. For example, if your goal is something like "I want to read such-and-such light novel in Japanese," you can work that into your studying by pulling vocab from the first few pages, or reading the Japanese and English translations side-by-side and comparing them.
Patience and persistence is the name of the game. Learning languages is hard, but if you put in the effort, it's 100% doable.