The Molokidan Thread~!

[molokidan]

I have been translating since 2005, with a variety of groups and projects. I've also been through undergraduate and graduate school, and translate professionally when I can find work. I am currently accepting commissioned projects.

[Zwivix]

Well it seems nobody has come by here so let me start by saying Hi! :glomp

What has intrested you in translating?
Why arent you that active?
Why did you chose the name you have?
Do you check this thread regularly(Well i'll find out if you reply to this)

Those are all the questions for now....I will be back!

[molokidan]

Thanks for stopping by, Zwivix!

What interested me in translating? Well, I love to write, even before I started learning Japanese, and I love manga, so I just figured it was the ultimate combination of the two, and I can do it for hours (days, even) and never tire of it. I just love to do it.

Not active? Do you mean on the forum? If so, well, I guess I just don't have that much to say. I think I'm pretty active as far as translating goes, personally, as all this is in addition to novels and articles I am required to translate for school, as well as work for other classes and a full-time job.

I've had this name for 8 years now, and I actually have no idea where it comes from, to be honest with you. I'm sure there was a reason long ago, but I have forgotten.

And I check the site once in a while to see if raws come up, so I guess you can say I check the thread regularly too...

[Zwivix]

Oh cool I could never translate for hours, even if i do it for about and hour and a half...

But ,yes, i did mean active on the forums, casue obviously your and active translator! :D

Oh, wow 8 years with the same name, I cant say ive done that since I got my first computer about five years ago...

If you check the site regularly then cool I guess we can talk here!

[ryusuke_]

Hi!

Looking at your list of translations, I suppose seinen is the genre you enjoy the most... any favourite manga you would recommend to everyone?

[molokidan]

yes, I do love seinen. Lately, I've been getting into a lot of 80's seinen manga, (like Riki-Oh) it's really good stuff. My all-time favorites are probably Trigun Maximum, Hellsing, Hunter x Hunter, and Bleach.

As for recommendation: definitely Detroit Metal City. Single funniest manga I've ever read. And it's new, so hardly anyone reads it. I highly highly highly highly HIGHLY!! recommend it. It's just amazing.

[GGpX]

o/ Molo

How's it going.

Gonna start on ch03 soon. 1-2 are basically release ready. ;O

[~Lilium~]

hello! :)

got some questions for you :XD
1.) i found ur name by looking @ the world embryo trans... is it good? the manga i mean? :)

2.) is that you on the pic... :oh

:p

[molokidan]

Hey Lilium, thanks for stopping by the thread.

World Embryo is great! It's a great mixture of shounen-style action with a very complicated storyline, memorable, deep characters (that aren't just stereotypes one after another) intriguing romance, and tons of tragedy. Highly recommended.

And yep, that is me in the pic. :D

[psy0]

What about translating Zero no Tsukaima light novel for Baka-Tsuki? It's more shounen than seinen but so far I like the story. Or if you want darker, there is always Shakugan no shana. The story certainly has many plot twists.

[molokidan]

Thanks for the recommendations, psy0, I'll add them to my list to read. If you want to me to do a series for you, send me a PM with the details and I'll check it out when I have the time.

[psy0]

:o that's a quick reply.

Thanks for your offer, but strangely I don't want any manga to be translated right now :p .
I left the scanlation scene a while back. Now, I'm just a plain leecher. It wouldn't be right for me to suggest something I'm not willing to work on. :s

[molokidan]

Fair enough! I'll still check the manga out, though, if only to read for enjoyment, so thanks.

[psy0]

I was referring to the light novel instead of the manga, though. You can find the translations of them at baka-tsuki.net. The interesting thing about translating the light novels here is that your work will get edited by the public for everything from grammar to accuracy. However, translating a novel is no easy task as you already know. :)
[hr]
Oh and if you want to read a gag manga for pure entertainment (just for fun and not for translation) there is seto no hanayome manga. I have a ddl link for the raw volumes. There have been mixed reviews of this manga so it's really up to the reader if it is funny or not.

[molokidan]

That website is indeed interesting. I have many novels at home that I've thought of making translation drafts of for fun, but I've never done it.

The one problem I see with that website (like any wiki) is that just anyone could come in an edit. In this case, with translations, that might be people editing your script merely based on their own opinions or interpretations of how things should be worded, which can get pretty messy at times. The same script from one translator to another can be very different depending on how they interpret certain things.

Seto no Hanayome? Got it. :] Thanks again.

[psy0]

Even though it is public, like wiki, they have editors and staff to check the edits. If they are legit, they will allow the edits. Also most of the edits are done by staff with minor ones being done by the public. Massive changes aren't allowed and whoever does that will be banned...kinda like wikipedia. As for hanayome i don't think there is a public link to download the raws except for the scanlated vol 1-2. If you want I can PM the link to you for vol 3+.

[molokidan]

I see.

I'll try and find the raws for the beginning. I have a few resources I'll check once I get off work.

As always, thanks.

[~Lilium~]

Hey Lilium, thanks for stopping by the thread.

World Embryo is great! It's a great mixture of shounen-style action with a very complicated storyline, memorable, deep characters (that aren't just stereotypes one after another) intriguing romance, and tons of tragedy. Highly recommended.

i see. thanks i was thinking of reading it but i didn't know if it was good. :D sounds interesting so i'll go ahead and read it. :D

where'd u learn japanese btw?

[molokidan]

I started learning it when I lived there for a year during high school in 2004. When it's around you 24/7, it's really hard NOT to learn it. Immersion is the best way to learn a language, I think.

I actually didn't have much interest prior to going to Japan, but a friend did it for the summer and told me what an amazing time he had, and I hated high school and wanted to travel somewhere, so I decided to give it a shot. Little did I know what I as getting myself into... :D

[~Lilium~]

u got to study highschool in japan :wtf or is that college? :darn
but what r u studying in japan? *like a major i mean*

[molokidan]

Yeah, I got to go to high school in Japan, it was a great experience.

Right now, I'm studying translation and Japanese literary theory. I ultimately want to translate for a living, whether it be books, manga, video games, or maybe even movie subtitles.

I'll be in Kyoto for a year very soon, so I'm pretty excited.

[~Lilium~]

:omg ur really lucky! were did u come from before u went to japan?

are the schools in japan somewhat like manga or anime? *i mean with the bentos... etc..*

:XD hehe i just ask to many questions eh? :p

[molokidan]

I come from America, I've moved around and been on the east coast, west coast, etc.

You'd be surprised, schools in Japan are quite similar to what you see in manga, TV shows, and so forth, but of course they're also pretty different. My mom packed me a bento every day and it was really tasty. And I was in kendo club for half a year and then after summer vacation, I switched to aikido club, which I like much better.

My school was in a pretty small city so a lot of the kids were laid-back. I was pretty surprised how relaxed some of the classes were. Of course, they were 2nd-years, not 3rd-years, so they weren't quite at the point where they had to start studying for college entrance exams. Many of the teachers were pretty nice, although there was one PE teacher who I saw hitting kids a few times, which was rather surprising. All in all it was a great experience.

And you don't ask too many questions, that's only two! Keep 'em coming.

[~Lilium~]

All right. Let me ask some more then :p

bento! :XD is it hard cooking those japanese meals? *in the bento?*
and how did the people treat you when you came there. second year over there would be junior year in the US right? did you know some japanese already? :D

:dance ur so lucky. :wtf

[molokidan]

Yeah, I really am lucky. The scholarship I got was only given out to 25 students around the country, and it was a full-ride free scholarship, at that. I guess someone must have really liked my essay.

When I came there, it's hard to say, as everything was such a blur because I really didn't understand much. Gradually, though, I formed friendships with people and of course, in their minds I assume I was always known foremost as a "gaijin," and second as a "friend," but with a year, there is only so much one can do to eliminate barriers like that.

My high school never offered Japanese as a language and there weren't any private schools around, nor did I have the money to attend any language camps, so before I went to Japan, all I could was try and cram as much of the language into my head on my own. I managed to learn hiragana and katakana, and some basic kanji, but that was it. Advanced sentence structures were still impossible for me.

I went during the second half of my junior year, and stayed through the first half of my senior year, and then came back in january of 2005. I think I was a really different person when I came back...being "alone" in a country like that really forces you to assume some level of independence. Not only that, but getting out of wherever your homeland is will really broaden your mental horizons. I recommend it to everyone, and it doesn't just have to be Japan, there's tons of other great countries to explore.

Oh yeah, and about bentos...it's not really that hard to cook Japanese stuff, you just need the right ingredients, like any cuisine. If you use the wrong ingredients (for example, Americanized "Japanese"-style food that's far from what it should be) then it's not going to taste right.

[~Lilium~]

:oh urrr... hold on ur confusing me now :XD did you live in Japan w/ or w/o your parents?

:comfort it must have been tough though to live in a country were you almost can't understand anyone... :s i would be scared. Are you fluent in Japanese now? and what's a gaijin :p

what does your name mean too?

[molokidan]

Oh, I lived in Japan with a Japanese family. So I was referring to those parents I had...

People always talk about it being tough and culture shock and all that stuff, but if you're level-headed and truly interested in the country, with a positive attitude, you won't run into any problems. I had a great time, did my best to see and do everything I could, and I had no regrets.

As for Japanese now, well, I speak it 24/7 with the Japanese people I live with right now, and I read/watch the news with little problem, but I'm not going to act arrogant and assume I'm "fluent" like so many people seem eager to do. There are words in English I sometimes come up when reading technical books that I don't understand, so I have to look them up, and the same thing happens for me with Japanese, albeit more frequently. I imagine there will always be words/slang I might not understand at first glance, and I'm fine with that. But I study and increase my vocabulary every day in order to try and minimize the gap.

Oh, and gaijin is "foreigner" in Japanese.

My name doesn't mean anything. It's just something I made up in 1999 with my real name, "Dan" attached to the end of it. Sorry if that was a boring explanation :P

[~Lilium~]

:p your name looks nice though.
do you speak english with your parents? n do still se ur real parents?

*:shifty i'm keeping ur thread active :D.*

[molokidan]

Thanks. This name is as real to me as my own one. Yeah, I speak english with my real parents, I go back and visit once in a while.

I know, thanks very much for keeping my thread active, I appreciate it, and it gives me something to do while at work. By the way, I see you changed your icon to a Poring...I played RO for a bit way back when it was in beta, but I don't think I got past Level 9 or something. MMOs were never my forte.

[~Lilium~]

Do you also speak english w/ ur japanese parents?
hehe. porings are cute.
:XD i played RO for a while in the Philippines. I even had a pet poring but my sis killed it... :( unfortuantely i don't think they have it in the states. i was around level 20 too and i met lots of players but summer vaca was over. so i had to leave it :s
RO was fun though

what kinds of video games do u play :XD?

[molokidan]

No, I speak Japanese with my Japanese parents. They can't speak English..haha...

That's cool. As for video games, I really pretty much only stick to older-gen games, like NES, Super NES, and stuff like that. SNES games are probably my favorite. I have a big collection of Japanese Super Famicom (SNES but in Japan) cartridges. I don't like the Final Fantasy games now, but I love the older ones. Same thing with Dragon Quest games.

How about you?

[~Lilium~]

:omg they can't speak english? that must've been hard when u just first came there then :p

the recent FF games suck but i like the old ones from PS1 alot. they're really good. :XD i'm also a big FF-fan basically almost RPG games. i like shooting games too and driving games. but i prefer playing those in the arcade. oh and right now i'm addicted to guitar hero :XD

[molokidan]

Yeah....I have Guitar Hero II, which is incredibly addicting. I think my little bro's getting GH3 for christmas, so I'll be excited to check that out too.

Yeah, if you're a FF fan, you should check out Romancing SaGa 3 for SNES. It never came out to the states, but I'm pretty sure it got a fan translation somewhere on the net. It's very similar to FF fighting style and graphics, the only difference is the level-up system (It's similar to the sphere grid from FF10) and how the story is very open-ended. But it's a great game, I really recommend it.

[~Lilium~]

how far are you on guitar hero? my friend introduced me to it a month ago. Ever since hten i've been constantly going to her house to play w/ it :XD i still can't do hard. its tough to transfer to the orange buttons and i also hate the double buttons :p

:nuts sure i'll try that game. i need an SNES emu for it too right?

oh i've always wondered. ... how do 'breaks' work ther ein japan. their summer breaks seem so short. maybe its just time-skipping from the manga/ anime that made me confuse this though :sweat

[molokidan]

on Guitar Hero 2, I beat it, and was working through getting 5-stars on all the songs. I was about 75% done with expert, and then I let my brother borrow my PS2 for a few weeks, and during that time he yanked the memory card out while it was saving by accident. So all my data got corrupted. I haven't touched the game since...it's just not worth doing all that work over again.

Yeah, you can get it on a SNES emu.

Well, Japanese schools differ with their schedules and stuff...but normally, the school year runs from mid-to-late April to February, at least in my experience. During summer, there's about a month and a half off. And then again around winter, there's another month-and-a-half off. And then in between school years most of March is off, and part of April. The breaks are rather sporadic. I had to go to school on Saturdays, and one time, we even had to go to an assembly on Sunday...

[~Lilium~]

:darn that sucks... I did that with my KH file. I turned it off while it was still saving. :darn after that the file got corrupted and i had to start all over :s

:nuts you have 2 long breaks then. That's much better than just having 1 2 month break during the summer... dividing it makes the breaks seem longer :D
>____> my cousins *who live in the philippines* have school on Saturdays too. They have their gym during the weekend some of them even have classes. But do you have to go to school regularly on Saturdays? or is that just sometimes?

[molokidan]

Ouch, that sounds bad about your KH file.

Yeah, I guess the Japan breaks make you realize you have more time off. And it never really gets you out of the "groove" of school as far as sleep cycles, etc. go.

When I had school, we had it every Saturday, but it was only a half day. I imagine it differs between schools, though. And I never had to go to cram school, which is what second and third-years go to after real school to prep for exams.

[~Lilium~]

:XD i've seen alot of these 'cram' schools in anime/manga but what are they exactly... are they classes like test prep?

oh yeah :nuts remember the manga i asked you about? World Embryo? I just read it yesterday :wtf it's really good! :pmg How come it was dropped though... :(

:darn

[molokidan]

Yeah, basically cram schools are specialized seminars in material that will be necessary to score well on the exams. In other words, more focused than simple high school courses...it seems pretty intense, though.

I'm glad you like World Embryo!! Keep checking it out, because I think it's a wonderful series that only gets better with time. M7 dropped it due to lack of staff, as well as receiving a cease and desist from the publishing company to remove the chapters themselves from their website.

[~Lilium~]

:( aww... its liscenced... :scry i hope the scanlations will continue... :s i read uptil chap 16... furthest chapter so far?

so are there any weird food there in Japan? :shifty *i saw a show that showed a man who bull testicles in Japan once... :barf*

[molokidan]

The latest chapter in scanlation is 16, yes, but the latest raw is chapter 29, 30 should be out around New Year's.

Weird foods...hmm...I ate 'basashi' a few times, which is slices of raw horse. Tastes surprisingly good.

[~Lilium~]

horse meat... :plot hmmm i haven't tried horse before :nuts. It really off topic but... that reminds me of glue factories for some reason... :sweat :bash :sweat

so world embryo is a monthly manga? :p

[molokidan]

Yeah, World Embryo is monthly, it runs in "YOUNG KING OURS," a more hardcore fan-oriented seinen manga mag that also ran stuff like Trigun Maximum, Hellsing, Geobreeders, Excel Saga, etc.

[~Lilium~]

:luv i hope the scan group will catch up to the current chaps soon :dance

so whatcha doing for christmas?

[molokidan]

Yeah, hopefully they'll keep up their pace and we'll be at chapter 30 in no time.

For Christmas I went home to see my family. My little brother got a Wii, so it should be some fun times.

[~Lilium~]

did u go back here, to US? :nuts

playing a wii is really fun! :XD my mom was supposed to get that for my lil brother but they were all out of stock :scry

so what games have you played with it? :nuts

[molokidan]

Yeah, wiis are tough to get a hold of...I'd try ebay, I guess.

I'm actually currently in the US (until next summer) at UC Santa Barbara. Then I'll be back in Japan studying at Kyoto U. I'm really excited!!

I played Super Mario Galaxy, which was really fun just to even watch others playing. And Guitar Hero 3 was great. Let's see, what else...Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. That's a beautiful game.

[Jinoh]

(big final fantasy fan here :P)

Who are your favorite characters, and what's the reason you don't like the latest versions? :P
If there were any manga based on FF, DQ or whatever RPG you like.. would you translate those? :P

[~Lilium~]

summer is coming in 6 months so you'll be going soon :XD ur studying college now right? <-- wait did i ask this before :headscratch

:XD ebay! :rofl they have everything :XD

I've never played any Zelda games before :( i wanna try one too. is there a zelda of ps2? :nuts

oh yeah :kukuku i need to make a nick for you too, if that's okay. :p molokidan is just too long :darn

[molokidan]

Hey gin0va, welcome to the thread.

I think that the latest FFs have been too overly dramatic for my tastes, and I like the older character designs much better than the newer, more "realistic" ones. Although, I have been playing FF12 over the holiday, and I have to say, although I don't enjoy the story very much, the characters don't annoy me like the ones in 10 and earlier did (except for Ashe) and I love the gameplay. The Hunt quests are a lot of fun, and the new battle system makes it much easier to get through dungeons. So I say it's a great game, definitely a step in the right direction for the series. My biggest gripe is that they had it take place in Ivalice, which personally, I think is a really boring setting, considering 25+ hours of the game is spent in some kind of desert. Also, I guess the creators are obsessed with blond people, because almost every character in the game has blond hair...that just seemed a little weird to me.

A Final Fantasy manga? Hmmm...if it was done well, of course. But I remember a friend who got me to watch "Final Fantasy Unlimited" a few years ago, and I couldn't stand it. If the manga was anything like that, then probably not. As far as DQ goes, I've read a bit of DQ: Dai no Daibouken, which is enjoyable, although it's a really cliched shounen. If they made a new one that had a lot of strong imagination behind it, I'd definitely try and pick it up.

Yeah, I'm really excited to go back, Lilium. I'm still a college student, doing my third year right now.

There isn't Zelda on PS2...but on nearly every Nintendo system there is some incarnation of the green guy.

As far as nicknames go, I've heard people call me Molo, Dan, or even Loki before, so you can take your pick!!

[~Lilium~]

mmm... :headscratch picks 'loki' :XD sounds cooler :p

Nintendo :scry i don't have a nintendo... guess i'll have to turn to emulators :shifty :kukuku

ur playing FF12? >___> i have that game but i got bored with it. i didn't finish it though i'm almost at the end... :( there wasn't really anthing going on with the story plot but i liked the battle system. and it seemed to short <____<

[molokidan]

Too short?! Wow...I'm like 40 hours into it, I'm at the Stillshrine, it seems like there is tons left game to go, but my characters are already level 38. Although, I do get really into the side-quests, hunts, etc. And sometimes I just like to explore places I haven't been and see what happens. I hate using strategy guides, I think it takes the fun of the game out...

And yeah, I love the battle system too. It's great.

You should check out A Link to the Past for the SNES, which I'm sure you can find on an emulator somewhere. It's a masterpiece of a game.

[~Lilium~]

Well... :headscratch not necessary too short... *wrong wording i guess* i meant the story... its kinda lacking. :sweat
Stillshrine... sounds really familiar but forgot about it already... :XD My highest person is about lvl 45.... i hate lvling up... :oh i should probably do that more the bosses are getting hard...
I'm at the sewers near that enemy empire thingy :crying noes!! i have to play it again soon i'm forgeting everything. :(

:p the hunts can be scary :XD i usually get beaten up when i do those... :scry gosh i really need to level up. :scry i agree with exploring :pmg its fun. i spend most of my time trying to complete those map things i don't get tired of it either cuz the graphics are awesome.

*:shifty* looks @ post above... :sweat that's pretty long...*
got too excited over FF :bash

yeah strategy guides can be a pain. I tried it once for FFX *i think* it was really confusing ;___;

I'll check out that game too :thumbs is it abit like chrono trigger? *thinks SNES that's why :XD*

[Jinoh]

ah, I remember final fantasy unlimited aswell... it was horrible :p

Do you like stuff like Kingdom Hearts?

What is your favorite Japanese dish and what's in it?

What's your favorite American dish and what's in it?

Who are your most favorite anime and manga characters?

That's it for now :P

[molokidan]

Yeah, the graphics for FF12 are amazing. The differences between the game's cutscenes and the actual game itself are very minimal, and that's what's so surprising. The load times are also really great for a game with such intense rendering.

Usually strategy guides just make me more confused...but anyway, I would really recommend trying out Link to the Past. It's real-time fighting, not RPG style. You don't gain levels, it's like every other Zelda game. I think you'll like it.

gin0va:

I don't like Kingdom Hearts at all, and ironically, it has nothing to do with the fact that Disney's involved. In fact, through the first game, that didn't bug me at all. What bugged me was the extremely shallow characters Square themselves developed, the un-engaging plotline, and the repetitive (and simple) battle system. From what I watched of my friends playing the second game, it didn't get much better. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad game, it just really isn't my type. Not many new games are.

My favorite Japanese dish...that's a toughie. I'd have to say ramen, as it's just one of those foods that make you feel good after you eat it. It's also cheap and most places that serve it also have manga to read while you eat it, which is the ultimate combination of pleasure in my opinion. It has a bunch of stuff in it...you can read all about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramen

Favorite American dish...I'll have to go with spaghetti, not with the deep red sauce but with the red-orange meat sauce, and some spicy meatballs, that is just a delicious dish. I just realize now that I picked noodles for both choices...I guess I am a noodles kind of guy.

My MOST favorite anime and manga characters? Geez...you ask tough questions. One of my all-time favorites has to be Gokuu, not just because he's THE MOST POWERFUL SUPER SAIYA-JIN!!! but because of the qualities he represents, which I think are very important -- a childlike curiosity, a sense of great imagination, humor, many of which are unfortunately lost by humans as they grow up and turn into adults. Of course he also envelops heroic qualities like courage, never giving up, etc...he's just an all-around great guy. I think he's the pinnacle of all shounen heroes.

I also love Hisoka from Hunter x Hunter, and Zaraki Kenpachi from Bleach. (I actually can't stand Ichigo...but I won't go into that now.) But both of those characters up there are just bad-ass. Vash the Stampede from Trigun should also be included. One of the first anime I ever watched, and the first manga I publicly translated.

[Jinoh]

I kinda guess I understand why new Final Fantasies get worse... just look at Final Fantasy 13 that's coming out on PS3... They even gave shiva the ability to turn into a motorcycle! Now that's insane, a motorcycle with icey powers lol... I guess THIS confirms what weird ideas people can have XD.. just look at this example.. riding icey metal motorcycle transforming female characters =/

I like the idea of CyberChocobos better XD :D

This really makes me wonder what Bahamut can transform in...

Main character: I SUMMON YOU, BAHAMUT!!
Bahamut: RAAARRRGHHH!!
*bzzzrrptt* ROBOTS IN DISGUISE!!
Bahamut: I AM MEGATRON!!
Main character: 0_0!!

[~Lilium~]

shiva in a motorcycle? :rofl :oh that's no cool though :( i didn't like how they even turned the espers/eidolons *whatever they called them in the previous FFs* into ships :(

loki, do u know where i can find SNES emu? :(

[Jinoh]

shiva in a motorcycle? :rofl :oh that's no cool though :( i didn't like how they even turned the espers/eidolons *whatever they called them in the previous FFs* into ships :(

loki, do u know where i can find SNES emu? :(

just google SNES emulators or anything close to that and you'll find some :P

[njt]

Soooooo many chapters in such a short time, you put my work to shame ;,;

anyways great to see you here :) I can agree that translating does help you improve a lot :D And it's great to have such an experienced translator translating here :D (not to mention seeing another gantz translator :ossu )

When you come to japan and if you come around the tokyo area let me know^^ we should meet up :D

that is unless you'd rather meet strangers from the internet then i understand completely :p

but so far I've met hisshouburaiken, yoropiko, nihongaeri and iwanin from here so whatever works

again thanks^^ I'll come and bug ya again some other time :p

[molokidan]

Thanks njt. I send you a pm, so check it if you haven't already!

And yeah, Lilium, hopefully you've found an emu by now, I don't want to turn this into some warez thread...>_>

[GGpX]

I have a horrible, horrible history with emulators. I've never been able to get them to work for whatever reason.

Anyway--- Riki-Oh rocks. Thanks a lot of doing it~

[molokidan]

Yeah. Well, I've had the same trouble, but only with certain emulators. Other ones, I've had many great memories using.

And no problem -- Riki-Oh DOES rock, that's why it was a pleasure to do.

Now I'm only 10 chapters away from my 500th translated chapter...wonder what manga it'll happen on?

[GGpX]

Let's do some oneshots :p

[~Lilium~]

Thanks njt. I send you a pm, so check it if you haven't already!

And yeah, Lilium, hopefully you've found an emu by now, I don't want to turn this into some warez thread...>_>
I haven't gotten it yet. :( school's been so busy for me and not to mention sports too >___> i really wanna play those games. :scry I'm almost done with my catch-up work so i may be able to do it soon :thumbs

[Alan Smithee]

I thought I would post here, I have seen your translations around I think I first noticed the name when reading nexgear's HxH scans.
So today I randomly clicked on the link in your sig and it lead me to a blog that contains a story you are writing!! Which is every shade of awesome just the fact that you are a writer automatically equals +100 cool points!! I am for sure going to read it all I have done one chapter so far and really enjoying your style. I am a writer myself but I am working on a script and childrens novel.

So to ask a question and move away from the praise... What inspires you to write? Where do your ideas amd characters come from?
Nia

[molokidan]

Hey, thanks a lot, Niabingi. I really appreciate the comments, and more than anything, you taking the time to read my work.

Even before I was into Japanese, manga, or anything like that, when I was just a little kid, I would write little stories. I don't know why, but I really loved to do it. Through school and things I always looked for creative writing assignments too, because it was so fun for me. I was always the kid turning in an assignment 50+ pages over the page limit because I had gotten too into my writing and couldn't stop.

I've written a ton of stories before, but this one I'm working on now I've put more time into than any other. I've constantly gone back over it, shown it to some test readers, really put my all into it...it'd be nice if I could publish it someday, which is another reason why I'm going into the translation field -- at least then I'll be in the literature/publishing sector of the business world. But the real reason I'm writing this is because I love reading, have tons of ideas, and want to write something that lots of people will be able to enjoy -- the kind of book that I would like to read. So please, if you enjoy it, and have any more comments, by all means let me know, and I will keep trying my hardest not to let you down.

[Alan Smithee]

I shall keep you informed as I read more... I have read 2 chapters now but I'm at work so it was more of a speed read (a skill I'm very proud of) as opposed to a proper deep read through.

[Jinoh]

Molokidan, I'm looking forward to reading that story you are writing. Be sure to inform me when you're done with it.

I don't have questions this time, but I just had to say that and wish you good luck with your story :P

[molokidan]

Thank you both very much.

Don't hesitate to let me know about any thoughts you have on it!

[Binky]

Belated congratulations on reaching your 500th translated chapter and speaking as aspiring writer to another (hopefully more successful one) I wish you the best of luck with your story.

I've cunningly structured this post so that it will end in a question: Can I have a copy of the story?

EDIT: Aww, my question is defunct, just found your blog. ;)

[molokidan]

Thanks for the comment Binky, thanks for the support and signing up for my forum. :)

[~Lilium~]

:dance woot!!! loki, the World embryo series you've recommended me have finally been scanlated. It was ur trans. so dropped by to say thanks!!! :glomp

[animalia]

I do not know if you are currently willing to translate other series other then the one(s) you are working on now, but if you are I have a request for you. I represent a new group called Fighting Dreamers Scanlations we were on a verge of our first release and were fine tuning the translation when we lost contact with our translator. We have two projects currently; "Shadow Skill Invincibility Fire Ball" (at least the first volume) and "Tokyo Underground" (At least volumes 8-10 (The first 7 volumes have already been scanlated)). I do not want to purchase anymore raw unless For more volumes unless I Either get a good deal on a hard to find tank, or it seems we will be ready to continue with scanlating more manga. Please let me know if you are interested in one/both of these projects or not.

going all the way up to the final volume. The first 7 volumes have already been scanlated. PM me with your email address if you are interested and I will invite you to gmail if you do not have an account.


Here is some info about Tokyo underground from wikipedia
The series tackles a world which is under Tokyo's underground railway system aptly called the Underground. The people living there are called Elemental Users because they can manipulate various elements.

When the Priestess of Life, Ruri Sarasa, and her bodyguard, Gravity User Chelsea Rorec escape to the surface and take refuge with swordsman Asagi Rumina and his bespectacled best friend Isuzu Ginnosuke, the lives of the two boys are never the same after Rumina was killed during a battle with a henchman then resurrected by Ruri.

They find out that Ruri is a very important person in the Underground and is being pursued by evil powers there. Grateful for Ruri and his newfound Wind powers, Rumina vows to protect her, even if it means going to the Underground to rescue her from her eventual captors before she gets sacrificed.it is a fighting/action manga.

Here is a quote about Shadow Skill Invincibility Fire Ball from wikipedia
Shadow Skill (シャドウスキル－影技－), is a manga series with anime adaptations, created by Studio Deen and aired on Japanese Television in 1998, and has been released in the United States by ADV Films in 2005. The series is based on the manga by Megumu Okada. A shonen series, it features a lot of combat, especially martial arts.

The main protagonists of Shadow Skill are Elle Ragu, the 59th Sevalle in the kingdom of Kuruda, and Gau Ban, an orphaned boy that Elle takes up as her adopted brother. He is currently a Valle and is improving his training. Gau is so impressed by Elle's fighting skill, and the stories of Kuruda's greatest fighter Scarface, that he is studying Elle's fighting skills so that one day he would become the greatest Sevalle in Kuruda. But before that, they must face demon beasts, spies, and Elle's debts from drinking, and collateral damage from fighting.

Also in Elle and Gau's life is Faury Maya (Folli Maya in the TV series), a Sui Rame talisman sorceress, and Kyou Ryu, a Septia beastcatcher and niece of Iba Stora, the king of Kuruda.It is also a fighting/action manga.

[molokidan]

You're welcome, Lilium, hope you enjoy it.

And sorry animalia, I am too busy with other stuff right now.

[miyagiCE]

Here I am, saving the day. ACTIVITY, DO U HAS ITZ?

[molokidan]

How dare you post in my thread myg

[miyagiCE]

I do it because I can, haw haw haw! I shall spam you out of MH!

Argjhjgh, my arms hurt so much. I travelled 400km on a bike today. Went to a bikers convention with my uncle. Note to self: Wear a proper jacket and pants next time. The wind does get pretty icy when you hit 220kmph on the damn highway.

[molokidan]

Since when do you exercise, myg?

[methanol]

I'm watching you.

[molokidan]

That...is about the most frightening comment I've ever received!

[Esc.]

Your translations rule!!

Dude, you met cnet128 in real life? That's pretty sick. I have yet to meet anyone on this site in real life.

[molokidan]

Thanks Esc.

I met njt as well, and saw his really cute kids! If you ever want to come to Japan let me know and we'll hang out.

[Esc.]

Sounds great.

Wow, Njt has kids? Many things about these people I would've never thought. Maybe I should get on the channel a bit more. :tem

[molokidan]

You should! But you might regret finding out things about us you'd rather not have known.

[GGpX]

Yeah, like njt is a pimp daddy, Molokidan is in the mafia, and so on.

Wait, hold on---

[animalia]

Are you still to busy to help out with a new project(s)?

[molokidan]

List the projects and I'll let you know.

[GGpX]

Welcome back, Molokidan.

How was the vacation?

[molokidan]

Still on vacation!

[Norenche]

Thanks a lot for the translations on Left Hand of God, Right Hand of the Devil. We'll be doing chapters 8 and 9 as soon as we can.

[molokidan]

Hey, no problem, thanks so much for translating them into Spanish so even more people can enjoy them.

If you're interested, I'm doing two other Umezu series, Fourteen and Orochi, both of which are as just as good, so feel free to translate them as well if you like. Fourteen is being released by Arienai! and Orochi is set to be released by Ju-ni soon.

[Norenche]

If we (OC Scans) find another editor we will start translating them into spanish.

Right now I'm also editing the english and spanish versions of Left Hand of God, Right Hand of the Devil :P

[molokidan]

Awesome! Keep up the great work.

[c11001041432]

please help me with this i need these translated
http://mangahelpers.com/downloads/details/17585

http://mangahelpers.com/downloads/details/17586

http://mangahelpers.com/downloads/details/5113

[molokidan]

Your request wasn't even written in proper English :/

[vpatrickd]

Hey. I'm here to say: Keep up the good work. :D

[molokidan]

Thank you vpatrickd!

[Tenma`Kenzou]

Great work!
You make Billy Bat understandable for me :D hahaha
So why Urasawa? Why Billy Bat? And is there a way for me (east european, Bulgarian) to buy the magazine in which Billy Bat is published? :D

Thanks again!

[molokidan]

Are you asking why I translate Urasawa? I think he's an amazing author. All of his manga have a certain unique quality about them, and the storytelling is (usually) always top-notch.

When I read the first few chapters of Billy Bat and saw no one hopping on to translate it, I decided to take it up so people could enjoy more Urasawa.

Billy Bat is published in Morning magazine. You'd have to order it.

And, you're welcome.

[Tenma`Kenzou]

Yes, Naoki Urasawa has unique approach. His works are most realistic and he discusses current topics.
Thank you for translating the chapters and keep up the good work.
About Morning magazine - can you somehow direct me on where to order it/subscribe to it? Because I've searched the net and sent thousands of mails, but I couldn't contact any publisher.

Also, is there any site, contacts for Urasawa's studio - "Nuts", or himself perhaps?

Thanks!

[c11001041432]

Your request wasn't even written in proper English :/

sorry about that i should start to proof to read things here is a good request

please help me with this I need these translated
http://mangahelpers.com/downloads/details/17585

http://mangahelpers.com/downloads/details/17586

http://mangahelpers.com/downloads/details/5113

[GGpX]

It still isn't in proper English.

Are you sure you're American...?

[molokidan]

Oh, yes. I'm sure he is.

If you'd like to pay and have them commissioned, I'd be happy to translate them. Unfortunately, though, I just don't have the time (or interest) to do 3 entire volumes of manga just for the heck of it.

[Tenma`Kenzou]

Yes, Naoki Urasawa has unique approach. His works are most realistic and he discusses current topics.
Thank you for translating the chapters and keep up the good work.
About Morning magazine - can you somehow direct me on where to order it/subscribe to it? Because I've searched the net and sent thousands of mails, but I couldn't contact any publisher.

Also, is there any site, contacts for Urasawa's studio - "Nuts", or himself perhaps?

Thanks!
About that?

[molokidan]

Whoops, sorry, I completely missed reading that.

I just checked the Morning site and the Kodansha site as well and couldn't find any info. Is there any sort of international bookstore near you that you can ask to hold/order a copy of the magazine for you? It doesn't look like Morning offers subscriptions.

[Tenma`Kenzou]

Well I found nothing, so I wrote them a conventional letter. we'll see if someone will answer :/

[molokidan]

That may just be your best bet. Good luck!

[c11001041432]

It still isn't in proper English.

Are you sure you're American...?

when you are typing fast and posting on a forum as long as you can be understood you don't need proper english so this is a time saver adding too that most people don't even speak proper english and I'm sure this goes for other languages also... so please don't an ass about it

[GGpX]

when you are typing fast and posting on a forum as long as you can be understood you don't need proper english so this is a time saver adding too that most people don't even speak proper english and I'm sure this goes for other languages also... so please don't an ass about it

That's the thing, though...

You aren't understood.

Because your English sucks.

So, are you SURE you're American...?

[c11001041432]

That's the thing, though...

You aren't understood.

Because your English sucks.

So, are you SURE you're American...?

ok you just understood what I just said so that proves that I am understood so you trashed your own comment by the reply you made HA!!

[Digitalr]

ok you just understood what I just said so that proves that I am understood so you trashed your own comment by the reply you made HA!!

you outsmarted him.

Question, who's the guy in your avatar?

[c11001041432]

you outsmarted him.

Question, who's the guy in your avatar?

Ikki from Air Gear

[animalia]

Sorry for taking so long to respond. Here are the Project ideas for Licensed But Censored that still need translators, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Tenjho Tenge, & Bobobo-Bo Bo-Bobo.

I am aware these have some scans but the idea is to have HQ Scanlations with all the frills.

P.S. I will PM you my email address in case you are interested.

[molokidan]

All of those have been fan scanlated as well as officially released (at least partially).

[animalia]

True but the idea here is for HQ scanlations with all the frills, that includes scans of the covers and translating the content pages, which to the best of my knowledge has not been done.

Also we would try for consistency in names, of both characters, techniques, and items.

[molokidan]

Sorry, I'm too busy to dedicate time to series that have already been done.

[animalia]

Sorry, I'm too busy to dedicate time to series that have already been done.Then do you mind if we use your osted translations of Dragonball in case we lose our current Dragonball translator?

[molokidan]

I'm already letting my Dragonball translations be used by someone who is doing a very good job with the scanlations, so I'm afraid I will have to decline.

[animalia]

I should have mentioned this sooner but the main group wants to work on Future-Retro Hero Story the first manga in the Outlaw Star universe. Since the only group to work on it, the long defunct Jinmen Juushin only did part of volume 1. Would this be more to your taste. BTW I have the first 5 volumes all that waits is to scan them and get them translated.

[molokidan]

Like I said I'm not taking any more projects currently.

[Norenche]

We, at last, ended the first Horror of Left Hand of God, Right Hand of the Devil. We'll begin soon with the second Horror. If you can I'd appreciate if you can translate up tu the end of the third horror, so we can work w/o worrying about not having enough tranlations.

Thanks a lot and keep up the good work!

[molokidan]

Free feel to PM me if you have questions about the scanlations, Norenche. This is more of a Q/A thread.

About the translations, I'm waiting for you to catch up, then I'll do more. Trust me, there is no need to worry.

[zombietoaster]

I am very grateful for your translations of Kazuo Umezu's comics. I am a big fan of him and was delighted when several series all of a sudden popped up :) I hope they will all get finished :)


Orochi (dead)

If you could provide me with the raws I would gladely pick this manga up for scanlation.

[molokidan]

Thanks, I'm glad someone is enjoying it. People just don't seem to take kindly to Umezu's fantastic work.

Oh, sorry, that list is totally out of date. I need to update it. Kurokishakai is working on it (they just released chapter 1) but if you'd like to help out let me know.

[zombietoaster]

Just released it? I thought you had listed it as dead cause they had taken months since the last chapter :P (but thinking about it, its only been two, I missread the release date as mars and thought it had been four months)
But if you ever do another Umezu manga, or one thats being scanlated is dropped by its group. Id gladely do it :) He is one of my favourite manga authors. And THE favourite when it comes to horror manga.

[molokidan]

OK, I will let you know. Thanks!

[barbapapa]

Hi there,

Just curious, what manga, or which authors do you like?

[molokidan]

Hi barbapapa! Thanks for stopping by.

I love Umezu Kazuo works, freaky horror stuff, funny gag stuff like Cromartie and Masaru, love Jojo, old classics like Galaxy Express, Kyojin no Hoshi and Ashita no Joe, etc. I also love hilariously over-the-top stuff like Riki-Oh by Saruwatari Tetsuya, and shounen when it's actually fun and not full of fanservice. I think that about covers everything. Unique things that cater to my odd tastes are best.

[Akiyama]

Congratulations on 900 translations, :confetti extremely impressive!
It's great that Billy Bat was the lucky one.
How many years have you been a translator?

[molokidan]

I've been translating since Summer 2005. I am not very active anymore since I have real life translating commitments, but I still hope to break the 1000 mark!

Thanks!

[sabret00the]

Just thought I'd come by and say thanks for being so awesome. The Holyland work is above and beyond; eternally appreciated.

[salam-daim]

Thanks for yours translations .... you are awesome
can I ask you one question? are you continue translation for mangastream?
and can you list the titles of this manga ???
thanks again

[molokidan]

Thanks sabret00the and salam-daim.

To answer your question, salam-daim, I am currently translating One Piece, Bleach, and Fairy Tail for MS.

[raghu2345]

Can you please translate Kiteretsu Daihyakka and Doraemon?

[molokidan]

Sorry, although I would love to, I'm too busy to take on un-commissioned projects these days.

[raghu2345]

Um...sob... I asked u because no other translator was interested in these projects...
Anyways,
Thanks for the comment.. :)

[molokidan]

Did you just call me a SOB?

Just kidding. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[tsubaimomo]

Almost to 1024 translations!

edit: good job!

[molokidan]

Thanks! I guess that means, what, I have a mb of tls now?

[nukumi]

Hello :)

I believe you mentioned somewhere earlier in this thread that you were studying translation in college, and are now working as one? If so, I'd love to hear your opinion on the usage of 'free will' in translations, as opposed to a strictly 'literal' translation. Obviously, using the extremes of each would be a little silly. (Ex. the literal translations in a japanese language textbook v. so much 'free will' that its almost like a new story)

I believe there's a delicate balance out there somewhere, and in my search for it.. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. :) Thanks!~

[molokidan]

Well, translation theory is a sticky subject, and people have differing opinions, but as for my two cents...

I started out translating being strict about keeping things as close to the original. The more I translated, however, I began to realize that this actually ends up distancing it from English readers even further. Sometimes, the structures of sentences, and the individual words must be altered to get across the proper nuance that is being transmitted in the Japanese text. So it really becomes a balance between the literal sentence being read and the underlying meaning. Good translators strive for this.

One thing I do not approve of, which I am sure many translators also do not, is a translator pushing his or her own personal opinions of what characters should say/how their lines should read in the text. It's masturbatory garbage. As for accents, it's a debatable issue, I think it needs to be taken case by case.

[nukumi]

Thanks for your reply. :) Maybe I should have started off with something easier like, do you like apples? Little too late for that now though. :P

I've always been concerned with how it would come across to the reader, call it my personality, but I'm also never satisfied with the result. I could read it a million times, and end up changing it a million and one. Eventually I just have to walk away from it and never look back. However, practice makes perfect, so I guess I'll just keep on doing the best I can.

I have this interesting ability to actually feel like I've become the character themselves. It's a little scary sometimes, especially if I'm reading about a murderer.. I just feel this evil well up inside of me. But at the same time, happy movies can leave me with a permanent smile for a few hours. It's like my real self disappears somewhere, and I can only see the world through the character's eyes. I'm usually able to see it with ridiculous accuracy, so I try to use that to best portray their feelings. Who knows how well it works though. I'll have to wait until someone tells me I'm wrong. :x

Thanks again for your reply :D I was worried you had drowned in work, or just generally too busy to check the site.

[molokidan]

I'm always drowning in work...but I make time for things I enjoy.

As a reader yourself, I think it's only natural to side with certain characters, sympathize with them, and maybe even feel like you've become them...but as translators, I feel we must be like omnipresences: netural and all-seeing. Notice how I didn't say all-knowing...no one can know everything the author is trying ti get across. But it's a translator's job to get close, and no one can do that with their own emotions/biases getting in the way.

I'm a rather heartless person in real life, so I guess that assists in me in translating as well :P

[nukumi]

calling yourself heartless.. I wonder what that really says.. I'm not sure I would bother responding to such futile questions if I was a rather heartless person.

omnipresent, huh? that seems like the writer's job, more than mine. He's the one that makes the world and the characters and decides what happens.. I'm more like the cute little babelfish in the reader's ear letting them in on the secrets of that world.. so in effect, I'm a completely separate entity from the story, ultimately out of the author's reach.. but yet I could never betray him either, as if we were two friends protecting the same dream, both with very different, yet very important roles..

personally, I don't think I could translate something that I had no personal connection with at all. I don't feel like I would be able to correctly portray the character's ideas. I'd sound like some kind of robot trying to narrate a comedy sketch or something. I must commend you if you've come this far without ever having felt a single emotion for your translated subjects.

you'll have to forgive me, or maybe not if you're heartless, as I'm terrible at representing my opinion. having merged with so many characters over the years makes my own self dim in comparison.

[tsubaimomo]

Yep, he's an abominable, heartless, translating machine, and what would we do without him...

[molokidan]

Oh, there are some characters I've really grown attached to and sympathized with in manga, I'm not saying that never happens, that'd just be strange. What I'm saying is, it's not a requisite for me to make a good translation. I love language, particularly Japanese and English, and more importantly, I love writing and prose. So all I really need are some words and I'll be able to have fun making something out of it.

For example, right now, for a real job, I'm working on subtitles for DVDs that introduce Nara's World Heritage sites. It's pretty dry stuff, but filled with knowledge and lots of complex terms. It's a lot of fun.

And when I said omnipresent, I meant "being everywhere." Seeing everything, looking from all points of view and not just that of your favorite character's. You will never be able to understand the story exactly how the author does, but keeping your eyes open will all you to perceive it in the maximum potential possible.

And to tsubaimono- :P Get back to work!

[Darklord_NS]

Master of Translators well i like the most of your translations especially i love Naruto and bleach you are fast and good

[molokidan]

Thanks!

[nukumi]

DVDs that introduce Nara's World Heritage sites. It's pretty dry stuff, but filled with knowledge and lots of complex terms.

To each their own I guess.. lol just kidding. I actually like that kind of stuff too. I find zero fun in translating if I won't come out of it having learned something new. Unraveling mysteries and solving puzzles is like my fix... haha at least it's cheap :l

In further efforts to "help rescue it from the depths of inactivity" (and change it up from the normal request posts).. what do you think is my best option when I want to ask a question about something I've been translating, knowing the following :
I'm scared of IRC (haha, don't hate :<)
Forums seem... slow? unresponsive?

Or maybe you know somewhere I can go to look up obscure grammar or maybe weird slang/archaic phrases.. I have this book (http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%81%A9%E3%82%93%E3%81%AA%E6%99%82%E3%81%A9%E3%81%86%E4%BD%BF%E3%81%86%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E8%A1%A8%E7%8F%BE%E6%96%87%E5%9E%8B500%E7%9F%AD%E6%96%87%E5%AE%8C%E6%88%90%E7%B7%B4%E7%BF%92%E5%B8%B3%E2%80%95%E4%B8%AD%E3%83%BB%E4%B8%8A%E7%B4%9A-%E3%82%A2%E3%83%AB%E3%82%AF%E3%81%AE%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E3%83%86%E3%82%AD%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88-%E5%8F%8B%E6%9D%BE-%E6%82%A6%E5%AD%90/dp/4872346955/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267328852&sr=8-2), and sometimes it really saves my ass from random grammar I'd never run across before.. but not always.

I'll be waiting for another "heartless" answer :x
If I'm just a bother I can go pick on another translator thread (:

[molokidan]

The best option, I've always found, is to ask *several* Japanese friends you have. Note how I say several...one person may give some kind of strange answer. But if two or three people give you the same answer, then I'd say 95% of the time it's bound to be right.

As a corollary to this rule, don't ask someone who you think is dumb, or generally devoid of knowledge regarding language :P

[Wallgate]

I don't know if it helps, but two phrases in the very beginning of Billy Bat c29 actually mean "Good morning" ("Доброе утро") in russian.

[molokidan]

Thanks! It was actually something I checked afterwards but forgot to add.

[Spaceman-Spiff]

What were the easiest and hardest series you had to translate and why? You can be as technical as you want in answering..

[dosukoi7]

I heard you translate professionally. I was wondering how you got into that, and what type of translation it is? I'm very interested in doing that. So far I've only really looked into Patent Translation

[Popo]

What is your stance in regard to nomenclature and dialect? For example, Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter x Hunter is a series that draws inspiration from real world places and events; this latest arc taking place in their world's version of North Korea. I (as a beginner) also attempt to translate Hunter x Hunter weekly, and I occasionally notice some differences in the originals and your scripts. Most apparent is the Royal Guards' constant usage of "Your/His Majesty" in reference to the King, even though the text generally uses 王. Characters like Komugi and Feitan also speak with significant regional patois, but these aren't as apparent in the English translation.

What about character names as well? For example, during your translations for nexgear, you had the character Kalluto listed as Karuto. The royal guards and the King, despite being named after both Egyptian deities (Nefertiti, Shau, and Monthu) and characters from a French picture book series for children (Pitou, Pouf, and Youpi), are transliterated without reference to those meanings. Is this for consistency's sake?

[molokidan]

Spaceman-Spiff: Easiest translations would have to be Umezu Kazuo manga. I've had entire chapters of pure screaming. Hardest would have to be...novel translating.

dosukoi7: I translate lots of subtitles for different DVDs, such as World Heritage sites, university tour DVDs, tourism DVDs, as well as business advertising, etc. It's something you have to get into by word of mouth and just doing lots of small jobs over and over again. Recently I've been getting into literature translation, which I greatly prefer.

Popo:
Dialect is something I try to stray away from in translation, because it mostly ends up looking distracting and out-of-place in English, and try to reflect the difference in speech more in actual vocabulary than trying to add a Southern dialect to someone speaking Kansai-ben, which I think needs to be done away with.

Personally I don't ever think I've translated bubbles spoken by Feitan, so I can't comment on that, but Komugi's accent has no English alternative capable of transmitting the same atmosphere, so no attempt has been made to force it as so.

As for "Your Majesty," I think the translator before me started that, and as far as I'm concerned, it sounds much better in English than simply "King!," and considering the Royal Guards' attitudes toward Meruem, fits better. I was aware of the Egyptian deities, but not the French picture book. If I could go back and translate the Chimera arc from the beginning I would change the spelling of the names, but I don't see any real point now.

[Wafo]

How about translating someone Osamu Tezuka´s Manga?

How Alabastar or I.L, por example.

[molokidan]

I assume that will most likely be scanlated at some point or another, since Osamu Tezuka is so popular in the West. I'd rather do something that has a lesser chance of seeing the light of day over here (like Mephisto, or Fourteen). But thanks for the idea.

[Wafo]

Ok. Anyway, in this page have many Tezuka´s mangas scanlated in japanesse:
http://rawscans.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=10413&p=11851&hilit=tezuka#p11851

Thanks for the answres, and sorry for my english.

[molokidan]

Cool, thanks!

[Wafo]

Sorry for mistake, the mangas was in japanesse XD.

[mikkih]

Just stopped by to say hello. Since you seem to live in Kyoto, I wanted to introduce one of my favorite places to visit: Nijo-jinya(二条陣屋). You may have already been there, but it is like a small ninja house. It was actually an old inn where Daimyo (federal lords) stayed while visiting Kyoto. The inn has many hidden rooms and tricks to protect the lords. It's a bit expensive to get in. It costs about 1,000 yen (12USD?) and requires a reservation ahead of time, but it is an interesting place to visit. Most people only visit the Nijo Castle, which is about 3 minute walk from there and do not know anything about this inn.

By the way, have you been to Kyoto International Manga Museum? (I assume you have.) What do you think of the place?

[molokidan]

Thanks for the info, mikkih! I'll definitely check out that place when I get a chance.

I have been to the Manga Museum, numerous times. What can I say about it? I was very underwhelmed by the entire experience. You think of a museum as a place to look at rare artifacts, things from the past, important and culturally significant items...and while the manga museum certainly has a lot of manga, it's missing so much. You'd think they would possess full collections of important authors' works, but there is a lot of catering to what's popular, and you won't necessarily find a lesser-known or out-of-print work there.

They have a vault in the basement which features lots of old weekly/monthly magazines from over 40 years ago, but the way it's set up, you can't even look inside, or even get a look at the entire collection, so that really defeats the point.

I was also surprised by how much "event"-oriented activities they had there, including cosplaying, drawing manga, etc. I really think "Museum" is the wrong word for the place. There's a university professor in Tokyo who has a larger collection than this place. I think "Manga Center" would make more sense, personally. Or maybe I just went in with too many expectations. They have cosplaying events just about every week, though, so if that's your thing, then I recommend it.

[mikkih]

molokidan,

Thanks for your detailed insights on the Manga Museum. I only know the place from their official website. I only gathered that they featured manga titles from older days and had a few events. If you have been there numerous times, it's probably good enough to visit at least once. I'll swing by with lower expectations next time around. I do not mind seeing the drawing manga part of their events you mentioned. Even with disappointments, I can stop by BOOKOFF on the way back and be happy again. Thx. :)

[molokidan]

No problem! And yes, I much prefer Bookoff for manga hunting. Although their buyback prices are pretty much highway robbery.

[mikkih]

I sure do appreciate people who sell their books at the store. (Hope you are not just selling.) How do you show your good holiday spirit? [喜久屋で買って、ブックオフで売る] would be it. :)

[molokidan]

No, I buy and sell of course. Holiday spirit? For what holiday...? And don't say Christmas, because that's pretty much Valentine's Day here.

[Nintakun]

Now it's my time to stop here in this thread.

i'm Still a rookie translator, I wish i could be like you molokidan, i'm your fan, man!
You're a hero that translated Sexy Commando Gaiden Sugoi-yo Masaru-san, now it's my favorite comedy manga (and i'm translating this to portuguese, for people in my country know this marvelous manga^^)

i'm planning to read Fourteen, it looks preety interesting.

well, that's it, Keep up with the good job, man!

PS: Any plans to continue Pyuu to fuku Jaguar?

[molokidan]

Hi Nintakun, thanks for the comments.

Masaru is indeed a classic. Great job translating it to Portuguese! That must not be an easy job.

I actually DO NOT have plans to translate Jaguar past the 3rd volume...I'm too busy these days and trying to cut down on my projects, and my interest in translating Jaguar has been waning, even though I also love the series.

If you wanted to pick up Jaguar for yourself, feel free to.

[Nintakun]

well, if i Knew Japanese well, i could pick Jaguar to translate. I'm Still studiyng Nihongo (at the moment, i can only read hiragana and Katakana, i still haven't started to study the grammar), in the future, when I will be fluent at the language, I Plan to translate these manga:

-Seikimatsu Leader Den Takeshi (Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro)
-Karakuri Circus (Kazuhiro Fujita)
-Ginga Nagareboshi Gin (Yoshihiro Takahashi)
-Pyuu to Fuku Jaguar! (Kyousuke Usuta)
-Bushizawa Receive (Kyousuke Usuta)
-Cat's Eye (Tsukasa Hojo)
-Space Adventure Cobra (Buichi Terasawa)

What do you think of my selection for future projects?^^

[molokidan]

Wow! That's certainly an interesting lineup. I wish you luck! Translating is a good way to learn, as long as you find someone to proof for you before letting someone use it for scanlation.

[Bomber D Rufi]

I know it was eons ago that you TLed it, but I just wanted to personally thank you for doing 'Bankara-san ga tooru'. Sorachi needs more love, and thanks to that oneshot, I think he may be getting it.

Back to slaving away over a hot set of Gintama. *sighs*

[molokidan]

No problem, it was a pleasure to do. I really hated doing BENCH!, so it was a breath of fresh air. I always enjoy reading the Gintama volumes...but not necessarily translating them :P You have my respect for sticking in there this long. Never give up!

[Bomber D Rufi]

No problem, it was a pleasure to do. I really hated doing BENCH!, so it was a breath of fresh air. I always enjoy reading the Gintama volumes...but not necessarily translating them :P You have my respecting for sticking in there this long. Never give up!

Thanks, that means a lot coming from a translation god like you. :-P Hopefully after Grad school lets out this semester, I'll be able to catch up again. Trying to translate two weeks worth of Gintama should be considered a form of suicide, I tell ya.

Thanks for keeping up with One piece though, since it's hard to find raws, I have to hunker down and read scantlations. So it's nice to see Mangastream get them up so fast.

[mikkih]

No, I buy and sell of course. Holiday spirit? For what holiday...? And don't say Christmas, because that's pretty much Valentine's Day here.

Ooops, I meant Xmas. Funny, you are absolutely right about that,

[molokidan]

Good luck, Rufi. By the way, what's your degree? I'm in the middle of grad school in Japan as well.

[Bomber D Rufi]

Good luck, Rufi. By the way, what's your degree? I'm in the middle of grad school in Japan as well.

English/Communications. I don't want to teach, which is why I have the second one there. I love writing though (as financially unstable as it is.) Although, I have a job with the US Government, so it's not like I'm a starving artist.

Honestly I'd love to get good enough at Japanese to be able to make a living translating, so I've been trying to take lessons. If that doesn't work out, I guess I have writing, lyricing and being a Dog of the military er....government to fall back on.

[molokidan]

By making a living translating, do you mean making a living translating for the government? Because I could see how that'd be possible. It's really hard to be a freelancer...as I'm quickly finding out.

[Bomber D Rufi]

By making a living translating, do you mean making a living translating for the government? Because I could see how that'd be possible. It's really hard to be a freelancer...as I'm quickly finding out.


I'd go for that, yeah. I'd probably feel more at home doing games, anime or manga though. Still, I just like being able to read and write Japanese. The money would be good, but it's just something I like doing.

Ew, I figured freelancing wouldn't be the best way to go. It's hard enough finding writing gigs freelancing. I would think translation would be a bit easier though. :-S

[molokidan]

I dunno, I really depends on your network of people and how many 'connections' you have, I'm finding out. I've seen people 'falling' into big translating jobs with people like Capcom or Square Enix just because they knew someone who worked there. So long answer short is: be social, I guess!

[Bomber D Rufi]

I dunno, I really depends on your network of people and how many 'connections' you have, I'm finding out. I've seen people 'falling' into big translating jobs with people like Capcom or Square Enix just because they knew someone who worked there. So long answer short is: be social, I guess!

Nooooo! My weakness! *Gaaan* Though yeah, I'm not a social person. I've been trying to change though, honest! First I'd better bone up on my Japan speak. >_< I could be the life of the party, but if I can't translate it doesn't mean squat.

[molokidan]

Nooooo! My weakness! *Gaaan* Though yeah, I'm not a social person. I've been trying to change though, honest! First I'd better bone up on my Japan speak. >_< I could be the life of the party, but if I can't translate it doesn't mean squat.

Yes, me neither...but it really is necessary. Have you ever been to Japan? You'll see what I mean...that country is runs almost completely off of "コネ."

[Bomber D Rufi]

Yes, me neither...but it really is necessary. Have you ever been to Japan? You'll see what I mean...that country is runs almost completely off of "コネ."

Never been. I was going to in high school, but family issues kept that from happening....although my sisters plan to go ,and want to drag me along. If I can get enough leave to make the trip, I may end up doing it.

Ugh yeah, I know. Kone wa hitsuyou da ne.~ Doesn't stop me from being super antisocial. Ah oh well, gotta break out that shell sometime.

[miercuri]

Hey Dan, I registered because I really wanted to thank you for translating Vol 11 of Homunculus. You've made someone in some remote Eastern European country very happy!
I have to ask though, do you plan on translating Vol 12 and 13 as well, whenever that may be? I've noticed you're quite busy.
Browsing through your profile, it also sort of dawned on me that I owe much of my blissful manga reading hours to you. So thanks for the trusty Bleach translations (I must admit I had never really taken notice names on the credits page) and thanks for shedding some light on DMC. You're dedication to this is quite overwhelming. I'm really very grateful!
Good luck with all your manga projects, as well as literary translation (from a fellow rookie lit translator)!
Also, Merry Xmas!

[molokidan]

Thanks miercuri, it's always nice to hear from people like who suddenly realize that they've read a lot of my translations, and most of all, enjoyed them!

And as for Homunculus...time will tell in the future. I always have tons of projects on my plate, and it all depends on what people approach me with. But I'll do my best.

Thanks again!

[mikkih]

明けましておめでとうございます。今年も良い年となりますように。

[molokidan]

明けましておめでとう！今年もよろしくね！

[mikkih]

I heard that it snowed about 10 cm in Kyoto yesterday. Enjoy(?) the white New Year!

[molokidan]

Yeah, it really surprised me! Most of it is melted by now, but it's been nice.

[Ethriost]

Hi there :)
Heheh, I finally take the time to register myself here.
I want to say thank you for being a faithful translator for World Embryo ever since the very first chapter. That is currently my most favorite on-going manga. And I hope you'll continue on translating it.

Also, I have some request for you as the only one translating WE. Please check your PM.

[molokidan]

Thanks, Ethriost. I hope I can keep translating it, too! We'll see, because I just keep getting busier and busier...

[Ju-da-su]

First time posting here, so...>__<"

Molo, I just got one really, REALLY curious question. I heard that you dropped Bakuman and Kekkaishi projects for MC. Just want to ask, what exactly happened there? Don't get me wrong though. I actually am not from that group, and won't going to request you to go back to them either, but since from looking at your translator page and stuff, correct me if I'm wrong and I mean no offense either, but you did say you'll translate anything, even the manga that you have absolutely no interest in, for some money, right? That's what got me really curious. I'm not totally sure about this, but I don't think you'll drop both projects that you've done for the same group just because you're busy (though I do know that you are indeed busy...>_>"). Interest has nothing to do with this either. So I got rather curious of what exactly happened that make you quit working with MC...Personally would like to hear your answer... .-.

[molokidan]

Hi Ju-da-su.

Sorry, but I don't have any exciting stories of scandal or anything like that to tell you.

Quite simply, I'm getting ready to quit fan translating altogether. I'm slowly getting more and more professional work, and in a little more time, I'll be out of school and starting a full-time job. When that happens, I will have absolutely no time to translate manga anymore. Instead of just up and quitting one day and leaving everyone in trouble as to what to do, though, I'm trying to go through this in phases, finish up as many projects as I can, and then make a graceful exit.

[mikkih]

Congrats. あぁ、もう卒業なんですか。おめでとうございます。 春から忙しくなりますね。この夏は１ヶ月ほど京都にいるので、マンガ博物館はダン君のアドバイスどおり、期待せずに訪ねてみようと思っています。他にお勧めスポットがあれば教えてくださいね

[molokidan]

ありがとう！

哲学の道は特に美しいから、是非お勧めしたい。良かったら案内してあげるよ！

[mikkih]

わぁ、ダン君ロマンチストだ！哲学の道は染井吉野がとてもきれいですよね。（私は祇園白川の紅枝垂れの方が好きだけど。）あそこはデートコースでダン君の彼女に怒られそうな気がするので、一応遠慮しておきますね（笑）。でも、どうも有難う。それに私こぶつきで、ああいう２人というか２匹が一緒にいると（ぬらひょんの百鬼夜行を引き連れてるみたいな感じ）、あまり風流に散歩を楽しんでいられませんから。久しぶりに清水さんには行ってみようかなぁ、とは思っています。

[molokidan]

デートコースなのか？俺は何回も歩いたことあるけど、それは知らなかった。。。多分、デートをあまりしないからそういう感覚はない（笑）。まぁ、とりあえず京都を楽しんで！

[mikkih]

京都は３時ぐらいに少し揺れただけだとききました。ダンくんが京都でよかったです。大阪ビルは揺れたようです。今日は東京や横浜の知り合いに電話をして安否をたしかめたりしていたのですが、まだ余震で何があるか分かりません。外出には気をつけてくださいね。

[molokidan]

ありがとう。怖いね。

[mikkih]

How is your life after graduation?
Best Wishes.

[molokidan]

I wish! Unfortunately I haven't graduated yet. I still have a handful of stupid paperwork and the rest of my dissertation to go through. I'm almost there, though!

[mikkih]

I wish! Good luck w/ your dissertation and such. I'm sure you'll do well. You can hang out on MH a little longer, I hope.

[Accelerator]

Hey there, one quick question do you still have the scripts for Toshiue no Hito chapters 40 and 41, since I don't think they are available anymore. I PM'ed you about this before I knew about this thread - sorry, didn't mean to bother like that - I just want to finish this project, or at least the ending, so I can stop OCDiing about it. I haven't slept a whole night in over a week and since this is on your projects page I thought is was worth a shot.

Please, I'm on my knees here.

[molokidan]

I answered your question in a PM.

[miaka_fr]

Hello. Just wanted to know if you are going to translate One Piece again as I notice you stopped it for Mangastream. Hope it's just a break.

Thanks & Cheers

xxx

[molokidan]

I have quit fan translating.

[raghu2345]

Huh, 1672 translations is humongous contribution to MH. I mean, we, ordinary translators can't reach even 1/16 th of your translations.
Good job. The hardwork brought me to tears. ;)

[molokidan]

Thanks raghu!

[raghu2345]

My name is Sakura, not raghu, thats my weird nick. :P

[mikkih]

暑中お見舞い申し上げます。(Greetings from Kyoto )

edit: I forgot to mentioned... I went to the Manga Museum. Thanks to your suggestions, I had low expectiations when I visited the place. It was more like a manga libary. Their old ghost story telling event was ok though. :)

[molokidan]

Well, just posting an update here. I am back from my retirement. Turns out...retiring wasn't a very good idea for me. So, I'm back and open to projects! Looking forward to another great year of manga translating in 2012!

[goldb]

Welcome back molokidan!

Hope you enjoyed retirement. Now, will you pick up translating One Piece and Fairy Tail again please? :worrybunny

[mikkih]

Welcome back, molo. I'm sure a lot of members will be excited to hear the news. :^_^

[molokidan]

Thanks goldb and mikkih!

To answer your question, goldb, I'm currently working on OP for MangaStream. Fairy Tail may be in the future, we'll see.

[goldb]

Thanks goldb and mikkih!

To answer your question, goldb, I'm currently working on OP for MangaStream. Fairy Tail may be in the future, we'll see.

:woo

God that's a big relief. No offence to their Anonymous translator but I kinda got used to having some continuity with OP chapter releases.

What other mangas are/will you be doing?

[molokidan]

As of now, Hunter x Hunter and Naruto as well. More may come in the future, who knows!

[Bomber D Rufi]

Welcome back! Its great to see a translator like you back in the game. ^^ Hell, if it hadn't been for your encouragement when I first started a while back I might have given up translating. You're like the Shanks to my Luffy, or the Kaito to my Gon. :-P Either way it's awesome to have you back and translating. If it's not a chore to answer, what made you decide to dust off the ol' translator boots and keep walking down that long road?

[molokidan]

Thanks Bomber. I'm glad to see you're still translating as well.

As for what made me come back, well, I've always loved translating, and some friends needed some help, etc. I'd see any real point to "retiring," even if I slow down so that I only translate one chapter a year, I think I'll always translate manga in some capacity. I've been doing so long, it's hard to stop.

[Bomber D Rufi]

Thanks Bomber. I'm glad to see you're still translating as well.

As for what made me come back, well, I've always loved translating, and some friends needed some help, etc. I'd see any real point to "retiring," even if I slow down so that I only translate one chapter a year, I think I'll always translate manga in some capacity. I've been doing so long, it's hard to stop.

I can understand that. It feels like a chore sometimes, but I don't think I could ever completely stop translating. Its nice to have you back though. I'd say keep up the good work, but I doubt you need a reminder.

[Zach Logan]

I private messaged you, but just in case it didn't get through, I was wondering if you'd like to come on The One Piece Podcast (http://onepiecepodcast.com) to discuss the recent changes at Mangastream and your work on One Piece to date. Let me know (or email me at OnePiecePodcast@gmail.com). We want to get both sides of the debate concerning scanlations and the new digital frontier in manga, and since you're a veteran, we'd love to have you on.

Thanks!

[molokidan]

Emailed you, Zach! Thanks.

[bigdarios]

i hope that you will translate one piece every week because you are the best !!!

[molokidan]

Thanks bigdarios, I'll see what I can do!

[prince immigrant]

Hi, molo how are ya, I hope you are fine! It's nice to see ya come back to translation again
What's your projects for now. Are you gonna translate the three famous manga with hunter x hunter even though MS stopped releasing it??
what other manga you like to translate?

[molokidan]

Hi Prince Immigrant.

Now that MS has shut down Jump, I'm planning to use this time to translate other projects I'm interested in. I like weird manga like Umezu Kazuo, Nagai Go, etc. I'm doing a lot of projects for Illuminati-Manga and Offtopia so check them out if you have a chance! Thanks!

[Nintakun]

It's very good to see you back, Molokidan! You're one of the best translators in scanation scene currently. Are you planning to continue Kazuo Umezu's Watashi wa Shingo?

[molokidan]

Hi Nintakun, thanks. I already translated finishing Watashi wa Shingo a long, long time ago. But the person handling the scanlations, Morten of Offtopia and Gantz_waitingroom, asked me to hold from releasing them until he releases the volumes. I don't know what the hold-up is, you're free to ask him about it!

[Nintakun]

Oh, it's good to see that Shingo is already fully translated. You're our only hope to see Master Kazuo Umezu's translated in english. You said you are interested in Go Nagai's stuff as well, right? Do you have plans for Iron Muscle or Susanoo?

You seems to like old-school manga. Do you have plans for Shotaro Ishinomori's manga too? (speacially "Ryuu no Michi")

Ah, and another question... wich are the new manga you're planning translate.

[molokidan]

Thanks Nintakun. As for Go Nagai, the #1 series I want to translate of his is definitely Violence Jack. It's an absolutely insane, epic series. We'll see what happens with that.

Ishinomori Shotaro is also a favorite of mine. I planned to do Kikaider a while back but I think that got picked up by someone else. There are so many great series he's done it's hard to choose. I'd love to do Inazuman. Speaking of Ishinomori Shotaro (the original manga artist of Kamen Rider), did you know Umezu Kazuo also did his own version of Kamen Rider? It's out-of-print, really hard to find. If I could find a copy of it I'd translate it in an instant.

As for new manga, I think I might pick up Azumi this year. I've already started a great new series called Gifuu Doudou (drawn by Hara Tetsuo, of Fist of the North Star) about the Warring States Period. I highly recommend it. You can find it over at Indomitable Cloud. I'm also doing I Am a Hero for Illuminati-Manga, and I started Eureka Seven AO with Mangastream.

[Nintakun]

Really!? OMG, I need to check ir out!! I Love the Kamen Rider manga and I'm curious to see how he would make an adaptation of the series! I Found out that he has done an Ultraman too. http://blog.goo.ne.jp/smiledingo/e/763722f1f8aa70f4fd669a7976f3680a .

Gifuu Doudou looks cool, i'm a big fan of Tetsuo Hara and Hokuto no Ken, and i'll definetly read this one too!

As for Go Nagai's Works. Violence Jack looks epic, but it's pretty long, I want to read this manga very much!!

[molokidan]

Oh, you know, that's it! Sorry, I guess my memory failed me. I meant Ultraman, Kamen Rider. How embarrassing! Sorry about that.

Thanks for the enthusiasm! Enjoy Gifuu Doudou.

[ToreToreChopper]

ehm... hi! :D

I was wondering... why have you stopped translating Air Gear? T_T

I'm not so good to write in English... I'm an amateur English-Italian Translator of this Manga... I read this manga from mangastream... so from your translations... and there are three chapters to the end (in english scans) although it's ended in Japan... I'm wondering if mangastream have dropped this project...or if you know something about all this...

thank you for your awesome work.