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Yeah that is the trouble with translations, even fansubs as well. Hence why there are dedicated groups that do it in their free time. You can't just translate Japanese-English as they each have a different syntax and structure.
 
memyselfandi said:
The trouble is that translating a light novel involves significant time and effort. For a good translation it's not just a case of doing a literal translation it's more of an art. You need someone who can restructure the translation to read fluidly in English, basically you are rewriting the story.

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Hell, many normal western series are released on an annual basis and do perfectly fine.
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The problem is many western series are also far larger books of 500-600+ pages vs 240 (and are frequently shorter series comprised of perhaps 3-6 books [example the Black Magician series], not 14+), as I commented on above. Hell, as it says, Animorphs released 51 volumes in 5-6 years, and those were the same size as these light novels roughly (yes I know some of them were ghost writers, but to an extent translation is a similar game).

You're right I dont want them to rush them, and ruin the series, but on the other hand, a decade to finish one series, that is going to put people off, no two ways about it. From speaking to a few fluent japanese speakers elsewhere some of whom had been involved in fan translating, the raw material of one of these novels could easily be translated inside a month by a professional, perhaps a little longer if they really wanted to polish it, but certainly no where near 6 months between translations.

I'm not asking them to publish them every 3 months, just to up the release schedule a bit (4-5 months), or perhaps consider double volumes [which might even be more efficient in terms of alloting translator time]. You also have to consider that fansubs are generally done in peoples own times, a paid, professional translator would work much faster.

I don't want them to ruin the series, but if they take the best part of a decade, its hard to see how much of a following these will pickup, because people will get fed up of waiting. As it stands the first book SEEMS to be selling reasonably well, several sites I looked at have sold out, and amazon only has a few copies left, Right Stuff also sold out at one point and got a new batch in. I understand the risks involved with publishing this sort of material, but then to some degree, Yen Press seem to be trying to position them with standard Sci-Fi rather than your more closeted light novel translation region anyway, if I understand the marketting I've seen, they're not trying to associate it with previous failed attempts. If all I was interested was them rushing rather than quality, or being silly, then I wouldnt have bothered to right a correspondence of that length, Id just have wrote something short and to the point.
 
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Demoniser said:
Yeah that is the trouble with translations, even fansubs as well. Hence why there are dedicated groups that do it in their free time. You can't just translate Japanese-English as they each have a different syntax and structure.
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Exactly; in fact the Japanese syntax and structure tends to strike me as fairly Yoda-ish when I try and figure it out :p

Alexrose1uk said:
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A professional translator may well be able to translate the average light novel in 1-1.5 months but that assumes that they are not working on other things as well, Yen will not have an infinite amount of resources and this is not the only title they will be translating. Also the translation portion of the production is only a part and the other parts of the production will also take resources which need to be shared with other releases as well.

A fan translation may also be quicker than a professional translation due to the lower standards of quality required in the output. Yes, I have read some fan translated novels and some of them were well done but others were quite poorly translated and frequently difficult to read, (almost as bad as my spelling and grammer:)). The well done ones tended to be released at a chapter, not a novel, a month at the fastest rate.

I can't agree with the comparison with western novels though. I tend to read pretty quickly, as such I read the Spice and Wolf book in a day. According to the schedule I should have the next volume in six months (and volume one of the manga in April) and so on for ~7 years for the current 14 books. Western books may be longer, but I have got authors I collect who have released a volume a year for significant numbers of years (I'm thinking 10 volume series in some cases). It, depending on free time, may only take me 3 days to read a volume of their work, then I have to wait a year for the next volume. With this release it may only take me a day to read it but in six months I have a new section of story.

To many releases per month can mean that the market becomes saturated thus affecting sales, something which appeared to happen to R1 anime releases a while ago, hence increasing the release rate may impact Yen's many other releases hence will be a factor in the release pattern they have decided on. Yen may be trying to increase their sales on this title into the generic Fantasy genre but the core purchasers for the title will still be people who purchase anime and manga who are limited in the amount they can purchase simultaneously. Releasing double volumes in the same release pattern as now is likely to take up to much in the way of translation and QC resources, again affecting other releases.

The reason the novel will be difficult to obtain at the moment is, I expect, because Yen probably had a relatively initial small print run so they were not left with many copies if they didn't sell given how light novels have done in the past.
 
memyselfandi said:
A professional translator may well be able to translate the average light novel in 1-1.5 months but that assumes that they are not working on other things as well, Yen will not have an infinite amount of resources and this is not the only title they will be translating. Also the translation portion of the production is only a part and the other parts of the production will also take resources which need to be shared with other releases as well.

A fan translation may also be quicker than a professional translation due to the lower standards of quality required in the output. Yes, I have read some fan translated novels and some of them were well done but others were quite poorly translated and frequently difficult to read, (almost as bad as my spelling and grammer:)). The well done ones tended to be released at a chapter, not a novel, a month at the fastest rate.

I can't agree with the comparison with western novels though. I tend to read pretty quickly, as such I read the Spice and Wolf book in a day. According to the schedule I should have the next volume in six months (and volume one of the manga in April) and so on for ~7 years for the current 14 books. Western books may be longer, but I have got authors I collect who have released a volume a year for significant numbers of years (I'm thinking 10 volume series in some cases). It, depending on free time, may only take me 3 days to read a volume of their work, then I have to wait a year for the next volume. With this release it may only take me a day to read it but in six months I have a new section of story.

To many releases per month can mean that the market becomes saturated thus affecting sales, something which appeared to happen to R1 anime releases a while ago, hence increasing the release rate may impact Yen's many other releases hence will be a factor in the release pattern they have decided on. Yen may be trying to increase their sales on this title into the generic Fantasy genre but the core purchasers for the title will still be people who purchase anime and manga who are limited in the amount they can purchase simultaneously. Releasing double volumes in the same release pattern as now is likely to take up to much in the way of translation and QC resources, again affecting other releases.

The reason the novel will be difficult to obtain at the moment is, I expect, because Yen probably had a relatively initial small print run so they were not left with many copies if they didn't sell given how light novels have done in the past.
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Oh no, I don't doubt a professional translator wouldnt have several projects, hence I mentioned doing two books at once might be more efficient, because he wouldnt have to adapt to a different writing style as often, in regards to resources then again double volumes would help here, as there would be less marketing, design work etc involved. :)
I don't disagree fan translations vary heavily, but that would be depedent on the people doing it, a translator of high enough skill to happily translate novels professionally is not likely to be a slow reader, I do get what you're saying regards quality though, it would really depend on the individuals involved, how much time they have and resources (a dedicated translator may take slightly longer to ensure everything is correct, but then that IS his job, most fan subbers I'd imagine will have work etc to compete with, so whereas the fan subber may only get several hours a week, the guy doing it for a job would have a far higher time budget).

The point on western novels will likely depend on what you read, I'm not saying there arent authors out there like the ones you mention, BUT the vast majority of western series are not that long, at least in one collection, so whilst you may get linked collections featuring the same characters etc, or the same universe, they're often not a continuation of one story over the a larger length, which spice and wolf undoubtedly is. I also read very fast, generally I'll get through a five hundred page novel in a day or less. We just have slightly different points of view on this sort of thing, I have some patience, but I get very into stories so in many cases I prefer to start a story part the way through so I can read several volumes at once.

I do understand your point on oversaturation, I've worked in retail and behind this sort of stuff before, and I've got family members who do planning jobs for certain large chains (it can be quite interesting sometimes), but I don't think reducing the time betwen volumes SLIGHTLY would hurt them, nor would a double book volume style release, as then they'd still be running on a 6 month rotation allowing room for thier other franchises (depedant on whether double volume translation was more time efficient or not, theoretically it would be, as it becomes easier to write about familiar characters/read familiar styles with time).

Without seeing any numbers it'd be hard to say one way or another on the limited run part, I agree you may be partially right I doubt the run was huge because of the experimental nature of the series, but then Spice and Wolf seems to have attracted somewhat of a following in America, as Werewolf said, he believes the DVD has sold pretty well there too, and a lot of the larger sites regular book sites seem to either have sold out, have limited stock of the title,or be waiting on new stock, which suggests there have been at least reasonable sales. The fact sites have been running out and having to order more will at least reflect well, and hopefuly mean Yen Press will be a little more optimistic for the series the next time round, if sales continue to be consistant, this may further persuade them the series may be worth speeding up the release of slightly.

***
Beyond all rational debate though, I want the rest of the series yesterday, I know thats never going to happen though! haha.
I'm trying to hold off on reading my copy of the first volume, at least for a few days so I'm very slightly closer to the second on completion :D


Sorry if some of my 'argument' seems a bit threadbare right now, it made sense in my head but Im not sleeping well right now and have been running about 2 hours of sleep a night for the last few days so admittedly my logic might have more holes than I'd realised. Family antics are...fun ¬_¬
 
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Watched a couple of things this weekend ...

Gunparade March - from the depths of my backlog ... well I had tried to watch it before but my old disk 1 was basically unplayable after the first episode :( ... replaced it the other day (and went from a thin cardboard sleeve for the series to a nice tin in the process :)) and decided to watch the series this afternoon. Not a bad series; the series follows one mecha type unit fighting an alien enemy. It is not over the top like most mecha animes, for instance they only get one new type over the course of the series and that isn't a massive leap forwards really. But the fighting is not the main part of the series. The series is really about the people involved and how they are, and have been, affected by what's going on and the relationships between them. Needless to say it does get fairly dark at times. I wouldn't say it was a great series but it was reasonably good.

Ramen Fighter Miki - oh dear. This is supposed to be a funny anime about the daughter of a ramen shop and the near constant fights she gets into. It is a bit amusing at times but it seems to recycle the same situations again and again with very little changes. There is zero character growth over the series and none of the characters have any depth at all. I spent a fair amount of time bored with this series and as such I would not recommend it. :(
 
Got paid today so have ordered 3 anime dvd's. I have gone for Urotsukidoji which I have wanted to watch for ages but never got round to.

Next up is Cyber City Oedo 808 which I have been looking to buy for so long. Watching a trailer online brings back so many memories of my first watch on C4 many moons ago.

Lastly is Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry) I ordered this purely on how many recs it got on anime planet comparing it to Elfen Lied, which is my second fave anime.

Don't you just hate waiting for the postman? :D A couple are from the US so I may have a bit of a wait.
 
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TechnoCorruption said:
Got paid today so have ordered 3 anime dvd's. I have gone for Urotsukidoji which I have wanted to watch for ages but never got round to.

Next up is Cyber City Oedo 808 which I have been looking to buy for so long. Watching a trailer online brings back so many memories of my first watch on C4 many moons ago.

Lastly is Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry) I ordered this purely on how many recs it got on anime planet comparing it to Elfen Lied, which is my second fave anime.

Don't you just hate waiting for the postman? :D A couple are from the US so I may have a bit of a wait.
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I have When They Cry which is pretty good, although a bit extreme at times, (I found it more so than Elfen Lied).

I've never heard of Cyber City Oedo 808 and have no wish to watch Urotsukidoji.
 
Cyber City was something that I watched years ago and only from coming in this thread did I find out what it was called. I bought this one more for nostalgia of anime viewing from times gone by.

I understand that Urotsukidoji has some extreme content but the reason I went for it because nearly all reviews state it as being a classic of that generation.
 
TechnoCorruption said:
Cyber City was something that I watched years ago and only from coming in this thread did I find out what it was called. I bought this one more for nostalgia of anime viewing from times gone by.

I understand that Urotsukidoji has some extreme content but the reason I went for it because nearly all reviews state it as being a classic of that generation.
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Oh yeah, if you want to watch them then definitely watch them ... that's the nice thing about anime, there's something for almost any taste or genre preference :)

Cyber City does look quite interesting but it would appear that it was on TV in the UK in the mid-90's when I was at Uni and wasn't into this sort of thing hence I doubt I'll have the enthusiasm to track it down as it's out of print now.
 
I think TRSI have it in stock :)

I just finished You're Under arrest Fast and Furious, which was great, I can't wait for the 3rd series (only another month from memory).
The last few episodes on the disc were especially good, taking it back to the comedy roots whilst also moving the characters along a bit :D

I think I'm going to be making a start on Clannad After Story tonight.
 
Werewolf said:
I think TRSI have it in stock :)

I just finished You're Under arrest Fast and Furious, which was great, I can't wait for the 3rd series (only another month from memory).
The last few episodes on the disc were especially good, taking it back to the comedy roots whilst also moving the characters along a bit :D

I think I'm going to be making a start on Clannad After Story tonight.
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Oh yes, YUA F&F was really good and it was really nice to see the cast doing something different after only having Season 1 etc licensed for so long. My pre-order for the next release was in as soon as it was listed :)

Watched the first half of Stratos 4 last night (after managing to pick up the Beez boxset cheap) ... thought it was quite good so far even if the rest of the story seems a bit predictable (from what I can see at the moment).
 
memyselfandi said:
:confused: why ... the last collection appears to have been released on DVD in August 2005 which isn't that long ago really, I have all sorts of DVDs from that period. There was more than just VHS releases for it ....
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I was inferring that it is still `out there`;):D
If you get what i mean
 
Finished Stratos 4 ... nice little series. A bit of change having a sci-fi series which doesn't involve mecha. Good collection of characters and whilst there were a few holes in the plot if was generally a good story. Very much of its age though with the female characters either in very short skirts, short chinese dresses or skin-tight flight suits ... and, of course, there was the obligatory onsen episode :D

Slight error on the final disk that episode 12 led on to one of the extras (clean closing for final episode) instead of episode 13 ... led to a bit of confusion but was eventually sorted (including ep13 defaulting to french subtitles).

I liked it, I would recommend it but I think it may be out of print (I was lucky and managed to grab the boxset the other day for £14).
 
Funnily enough i was thinking of picking that series up after finally finishing Planetes the other day (which was excellent btw) it put me into a space kind of mood.
 
Quick question, to you guys who use TRSI a lot, how long do you find delivery typically takes from despatch? The site mentions 2-6 weeks which Im *guessing* is an exaggeration!

OH and as I finally finished Tales of Vesperia today (well the non-felarms with triple boss fight ending) [best JRPG so far this generation IMO, decent side characters, a big bad who's actually got some motivations...and is a GOOD guy, voice acting that was FAR better than SO4 (and the relationship between Yuri/Estelle is very subtle...mostly which makes a nice change from previous Tales games)], I add this:

<Same song, just one's the real music video, the second is purely game/anime based so you have choice based on your preferences, although the second set to 480p has noticeably better sound quality>




It's quite obviously anime/japanese inspired haha
(There's a prequel movie coming out next year it seems as well)

Shame the PS3 expanded Collector's Edition doesn't seem to be coming to the US/EU.
 
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Demoniser said:
Funnily enough i was thinking of picking that series up after finally finishing Planetes the other day (which was excellent btw) it put me into a space kind of mood.
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I'd say that Planetes (which is another title in my to be re-watched list) has a more serious feel to it than Stratos 4, probably due to greater amount of fanservice in the latter title :)

Alexrose1uk said:
Quick question, to you guys who use TRSI a lot, how long do you find delivery typically takes from despatch? The site mentions 2-6 weeks which Im *guessing* is an exaggeration!
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Normally TRSI shipping for me is 2.5-3 weeks as a minimum. I've never had anything from them in less than 2 weeks that I remember. Longest was ~3.5-4 weeks but that was a big box.
 
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