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Translating manga, or Japanese comics, is no joke. Between the tight deadlines, the space limitations and often-nuanced text, the constant fight against piracy, and the legion of fans eager to scrutinize every detail of a new release, linguists face some difficult expectations. But it’s also a dynamic line of work putting the translator at the heart of some of the world’s most cutting-edge storytelling.
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The collaborative craft behind manga translation
According to Gizmodo, translating manga is as collaborative an effort as most publishing enterprises, with “an editor, copy desk, and a glossary style guide for colloquialisms, dialects, whether or not someone has a verbal tic, and honorifics that they commit to memory or create in Word or Excel documents to maintain consistency in a given series.”
And like any project, manga translation comes with its own unique quirks and challenges. As the translators interviewed for Gizmodo point out, the language used in the comics may be chosen for ambiguous reasons. The language could be chosen for foreshadowing, characterization, or some other literary device that is not immediately obvious. And for every detail a translator misses, you can bet that some fan somewhere will notice—either immediately or in the distant future when all the storytelling pieces have fallen into place.
“There’s mixed messages, and it’s one of those things where, I think, within the story, it’s pretty clear, but as a translator, you never know for sure how things might change in the future or how they might shake out,” Stephen Paul, a translator for popular series like One Piece, Akane-banashi, and Vinland Saga, told Gizmodo. “I have to be really careful about the language that I use.”
When every word carries weight
And that’s just the beginning of the linguistic complications that arise when translating manga. The Japan Times illustrates in far more detail just how thorny word choices can be, with fans now expecting an exacting attention to detail. And they’ll take matters into their own hands if they’re not satisfied. According to CBR, Shueisha, a Japanese publisher, fined one individual over $3,000 for releasing unauthorized translations of Weekly Shonen Jump, one of the most popular publications for new manga chapters.
“The man was found to have translated the manga from Japanese to English without permission before the magazine’s release, and it is possible that the data from the unauthorized translation could be spread around the world via social media, etc., and provided to pirate sites outside of Japan, so it is significant that he was found guilty of unauthorized translation as well,” said representatives of Shueishain a statement.
Unauthorized translation, while an issue for publishers, is far from the worst that can happen when fan expectations aren’t satisfied. In some cases, translators have faced outright harassment. And anything from potential political and social themes to insinuations that one character is stronger than another could set a community off.
“It definitely happens more with combat and big shonen series,” Paul told Gizmodo. “I work on Akane-banashi, which is rakugo, a traditional Japanese form of comedic storytelling, so it’s about the arts. It’s a fairly successful series. People who are into it really love it, but the week-to-week experience could not be more different from One Piece because there are no leaks for Akane.”
Fans, piracy, and the pressure to deliver
It’s a unique way to make a living, particularly with the challenges and downsides. Like any other freelancing occupation, manga translators must ensure they bring in enough work to pay the bills.
“With flexible-deadline manga projects growing more rare, it may be necessary to branch out into fields like light novel, game, or literary translation to fill your workday,” Casey Loe, a translator for Spy x Family, Kill Blue, and Shiba Inu Rooms, told Gizmodo. “Manga makes for a fun side gig, though!”
But when one is facing the practical realities of life, fun only goes so far.
“Even if translators are passionate about what they’re working on, they can’t do it for free. We gotta eat. There’s no ifs, and, or buts about that,” David Evelyn, translator for Undead Unluck, Gokurakugai, and City Hunter, told Gizmodo.
