Strays: How We Learned To Stop Whining And Do Edited Mangas By Ourselves | MangaHelpers



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Strays: How We Learned To Stop Whining And Do Edited Mangas By Ourselves

Siedhr

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Important:

For any matters relating to joining our group, using our scans for release in another language or coloring (colored pages may be featured in our chapter releases), or any other issues pertaining to the group and our projects, please go to the website or on IRC (#strays@irc.irchighway.net) and contact Not_Log or any other member of the group. I (Siedhr) am retired and only do some work once in a while. I will pass on your messages, but you'll save time going directly to the source.



Hello everyone,

Since we now have more than one released project, I decided to make a presentation thread for us. Late I know, considering we've been around since September, but I wanted to avoid the "Who the hell are you people and what do you want from us orphan thread" problem. Prepare yourselves for quite a long read.

So how did we stop whining and learned to satisfy ourselves, you ask?

Well, some months ago (early Spring if memory serves), I was wandering around the interwebz, desolately looking for Vagabond Edited Mangas past volume 20. As you might know, there were none to be found, but I lucked out and stumbled upon some other people who also wanted them, mainly NeoShweaty from KO-Scans. Soon enough, zindryr started translating the newest chapters, and this is how I was reborn as a fanatical groupie/supporter. Edited Mangas were coming around slow due to lack of people, so one day I wondered: but what can I do to help these nice people? Sure enough, there was plenty I could do, so I got off my ass and started learning to typeset (still haven't seen the end of this one, by the way).

Soon enough, KO-Scans was merrily releasing Vagabond chapters, and due to some influx of new blood, we had caught up with the 20 volumes already released. By far the most important person of this new generation was Devin (Devin Lane who doesn't like usernames or doesn't have anything to hide or both). Devin started by ganking one of zindryr's translations and making his own Edited Manga, which made us see red at first, but then we thought: Hey, this might be an opportunity in disguise.

Here's an approximate rendition of our first encounter:
Siedhr: hey, since you're a fan of Vagabond, don't you wanna join us and help us release faster and better Edited Mangas?
Devin: omg, sure, though I don't know much about Editing
Siedhr: yay
Devin: I'm a serious person that can be counted upon. I'm also willing to learn everything I don't know
Siedhr: yayay
Devin: by the way, I'm also learning how to clean
Siedhr: yayayay
Devin: I can work hard, long hours and stay awake until the release is out
Siedhr: yayayayay
Devin: do you guys want some server space and bandwidth? also, I know how to make websites
Siedhr: Santa, is that you?

Devin quickly became essential to the Vagabond project, and soon we were spending long hours chatting and trudging along, releasing stuff.

Let's back up a bit now. I've read some insane amounts of manga, most of them largely unknown. And unfortunately, many of these projects have been abandoned half way, mostly for lack of staff, cause everyone in the universe seems to be translating and Editing Naruto. Also, there is plenty of very good manga out there, that no one except the Japanese have heard of. This was a major frustration of mine that was shared by Devin and zindryr both.

There were a lot of conversations going along back and forth the three of us for about a month (August).
Abridged summary:
zindryr: I found some manga noone is doing and I'd like to translate it and I'll give it to you guys to scanlate
Siedhr&Devin: omg, cool

Since we worked so well together, Devin and I talked about branching out, maybe making our own group (KO-Scans mainly does mainly sports manga and we wanted to do seinen). We came up with a name and a list of projects we'd like to do and the rest is history, as they say. The Mangahelpers staff, especially Gold Knight, were very supportive of our efforts.

Bottom line is that Strays was born and bred in the bowels of Mangahelpers (GK is like our godfather), more from necessity than anything else, the necessity to scanlate some manga nobody else was doing. Isn't this what the purpose of this website is after all?

You've all seen the unhappy leechers whining around threads here and there. However the majority of them don't seem to realize that the only way to see their beloved manga released is to actually get off their butts and work on it.

So what can you learn from our story:

1. We started literally from scratch, with just a copy of Photoshop, some basic knowledge of how to work with it and a handful of tutorials. Most importantly we had the desire to actually do something instead of waiting around for others to do it for us.

2. If you're a wannabe Manga Editor, instead of wasting your time and doing the umpteenth fast Edited Manga for Naruto, Bleach or One Piece, think about either joining another group (all groups suffer from lack of people), or if that doesn't work for you, make your own. Ok, you can do fast Edited Mangas too, since there's a demand for it. But don't stop there.

3. Instead of whining, just Do It.



Strays is basically me and Devin Lane trying desperately to keep up with our many projects. We've recently aquired some brand new members, and by aquired I mean went into the world and harpooned them, because they didn't seem to be coming by themselves. :p We also lucked out because of Zindryr (he's from Bakafish, if you didn't know), who translates most of our series. I'm pretty sure he's one of the most active translators around.

Projects that we do:

Current projects

1. Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue
This is our most important project (the "leaveeverythingelseandreleasethis" project).

2. Chevalier
This is the project that actually started our group, about a guy who needs to crossdress as his sister to kick some monster ass.

3. My Balls
Our most popular project to date, apparently because it includes nekkid chicks and a crazy concept.

4. Jackals
If you're into shady underworlds and cool looking assasing, you definitely cannot miss this one out.

This was originally a KO-Scans project, but Neo graciously passed it to us, since unfortunately he's too busy with college (girls and drinking) to be as active as he was in the Editing world.


Upcoming projects - which means we're working actively on them at the moment

5. Chunchu
By the same artist as Jackals, this manwha has astonishing art and a very good story. It features your misunderstood, brooding hero who has a big sword. "cough"

6. Slam Dunk - 10 Days After
Ever wondered what happened to Sakuragi and Rukawa after the Nationals? Well, here's your chance to find out.

7. Legend of the King of Wolves
This is the sequel to King of Wolves by Kentaro Miura.

8. Companion by Yoshitomo Akihito
Companion is about the people who escort you from purgatory into the world of the dead. After you die you must go through your personal gate into the world of the dead, and companions are the ones who lead you there.

There are others projects in the pipeline, so look forward to them.

You can find all of our releases on our website.

We still need staff, so if you're interested come join us. You don't have to be a specialist (heck for typesetters, we'd be willing to teach you starting from "double-click this icon to open Photoshop"), but you do have to be willing to learn and commit to a project.

Right now we have all the people don't know much but want to learn that we can handle.
For now, anyway. But feel free to post in this thread and we'll give you all the assistance we can, and when we'll be looking for people again, we'll be sure to contact you.

We still need cleaners with experience, and especially someone who knows how to redraw. If you want to be part of Strays, please take the Cleaning Test. The zip contains the pages you have to work on and an Instruction file.

I kinda doubt there would be many questions after this exhaustive presentation that took me an hour to write, but if you have any, please go ahead. If you don't, feel free to worship us instead. :tem
 
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NeoShweaty

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LOL! i love the quote about me and Jackals. I cant wait to see it out.

Also, HELP THESE GUYS OUT! They are like my little cubs that have grown into strong lions and they need more members to add to the pride. (female lions, seeing as i can be the only male :P)
 

Siedhr

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LOL! i love the quote about me and Jackals. I cant wait to see it out.
It's the truth. Heh. I really should have said more about you in the presentation. You're definitely one of the reasons we exist and have always been a big help to us. Like our mentor. :tem

They are like my little cubs that have grown into strong lions and they need more members to add to the pride. (female lions, seeing as i can be the only male :P)
Haha, so true.

Funny you should mention the lion pride as an example seeing as how the group is structured. I'm the only female, the rest are all men, or should I say boys since they're all much younger than me. :smile-big
 

Aqsa

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I don't know how to use Photoshop and don't have it downloaded, but I'd like to help.

I also don't understand any Japanese and cannot read it. If there's anyway I can help, let me know.
 

Siedhr

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Aqsa said:
I don't know how to use Photoshop and don't have it downloaded, but I'd like to help.

I also don't understand any Japanese and cannot read it. If there's anyway I can help, let me know.
Awesome. That's the spirit.

You can help by learning how to typeset and/or to clean. Well if you learn how to clean, typesetting is easy. Or you could learn Japanese and become a God. :tem

We won't be doing any releases during the winter break, so during that time you could start learning. We'll give you a copy of Photoshop (check your PMs in a bit), and some tutorials, and you can get started.
 

devinlane

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See, Siedhr is quite humble, which is why she neglects to mention all the stuff SHE did for Strays. Stuff like, well, founding the group, recruiting new members, coordinating said members, looking for new projects, coordinating a translator for Jackals, proofreading, script editing, and, of course, her connection with the MH community. Without all of this, Strays would be nothing.

While I'm certainly awesome (damn sexy too), y'all (myself included) gotta give props to Siedhr for all she's done. So if you read the above and think that I do everything, think again, as Siedhr is driving Strays more than I am.

Now, go read Jackals y'all.
 

Valandor

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I'd love to help you guys out with the Typesetter position.

Got some minor experience with it
I was trying to scanlate Blue Dragon but the Editing part took to much time for my taste. If you want to see the pages ill upload em on sendspace or something
 

Aqsa

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I have no idea what typesetting or cleaning is.
 

Siedhr

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Aqsa said:
I have no idea what typesetting or cleaning is.
We're off to a nice start. It means you don't have to unlearn anything. It's nice to work with a blank slate. I'm writing you a private message now with more details.
 

Lyfe004

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Hey Siedhr,

I go by the name of Lyfe004 in Mangahelpers :smile-big and if you're still looking for typesetters I'd be glad to help. But be warned, I've never done this but I just got Photoshop CS2 and was preparing for thursdays "Raw Day" to scanlate some mangas, mainly just to get a feel and start off. But I just read Chevalier and Jackals scanlated by you guys and read in the credits section taht you're looking for help. I'm a fresh noob of a typesetter, know how to read (but sadly not understand) katakana and hiragana and my editting experience is 0, even though I'm trying to learn via Mangahelpers Tutorial. I'm willing to join and work hard for the manga community. Thanks for your time. Hope to hear from you soon.

Okay I'm sorry I had to write it here. Tried to send you a PM but for some reason it wouldn't let me -_-
 

ibra87

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Haha, great Santa quote there XD I'm glad you guys have been born (is that even correctly said?). I've heard lots of stuff about Vagabond, so I will be sure to pick that up and probably Chevelar too (insert the name of the 96-page manga here). All to show my appreciation to such a nice group as yours.

Edit: they call it "Chevalier"
 

Gold Knight

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Lyfe004 said:
Okay I'm sorry I had to write it here. Tried to send you a PM but for some reason it wouldn't let me -_-
You shouldn't be having any problems with private messaging. Maybe the forum hiccupped when you tried to - that happens sometimes.
 

manu

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Siedhr said:
if not the only, group that was created here (and actually put out more than one chapter or two, that is). Isn't this what the purpose of this website is after all?
... Minna kinda started here...

And yeah I agree since zindyr is the translator of Blue Dragon and he is from Strays that gives you guys just as much as a right to do it if not more then everyone else.

Yes we definately could use more senien besides Gantz every so often. I'm sure you guys have fantastic taste so i'm dling all your other projects now. *ish a fan of My Balls*
 

devinlane

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manu:

I'm glad you are enjoying My Balls. Cleaning them is a real bitch though. (sorry, couldn't resist :D)

Just to be correct, zindryr is actually part of Bakafish, it just so happens that we scanlate nearly everything he translates :D
 

manu

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Chevaliar was a very wild ride, that manga had a bigger twist in its first chapter then all of Naruto part 2 combined. Can't say I stomached it to well but if this is what the first chapter had in stock I can't wait for more.
 

ShiNocturne

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Hey uh, I'm willing to learn if anyone is willing to teach. I've got some free time on my hands now, so yeah..I've been lurking a bit too long now n_n" I have very minimal knowledge for both Photoshop and Japanese, but if anyone can help me improve..hell, why not? XD Just PM me..if you guys still need people.
 

yeste

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You guys certainly are getting a lot of action in here :) That’s great!!! It’s nice to know that someone is taking care of seinen releases! Hope you guys get some help real soon!!!

if not the only, group that was created here (and actually put out more than one chapter or two, that is). Isn't this what the purpose of this website is after all?
... Minna kinda started here...
The group I’m in too! :) Well I guess MH is responsible for more than a few groups, eh!?!! :)

I'm glad you are enjoying My Balls. Cleaning them is a real bitch though. (sorry, couldn't resist )
Heh… :) xD

Sorry to say that this is probably the only one of your releases that I have checked out so far… Still don’t know what to think about it though… :p

But I’ll be checking out the rest of the stuff too!!! Just keep ‘em coming!!!
 

Siedhr

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Devin Lane said:
See, Siedhr is quite humble, which is why she neglects to mention all the stuff SHE did for Strays.
It would have sounded bad if I sang my own praises. Might as well let others do it. :p

ibra 87, I hope you enjoy what you read. That's our purpose and it would make us very happy.

manu said:
... Minna kinda started here...
I didn't say we were the only ones, but it could have been misunderstood, so I'll edit my original post. And good for them.

And yeah I agree since zindyr is the translator of Blue Dragon and he is from Strays that gives you guys just as much as a right to do it if not more then everyone else.
Zindryr is from Bakafish. I wish he was in our group, though. I'm not complaining, we've got a good thing going on. He translates, we scanlate.

Yes we definately could use more senien besides Gantz every so often. I'm sure you guys have fantastic taste so i'm dling all your other projects now. *ish a fan of My Balls*
Thank you. We try to only work on manga we love.

ShiNocturne said:
Hey uh, I'm willing to learn if anyone is willing to teach. I've got some free time on my hands now, so yeah..I've been lurking a bit too long now n_n" I have very minimal knowledge for both Photoshop and Japanese, but if anyone can help me improve..hell, why not? XD Just PM me..if you guys still need people.
Thanks for offering and check your PMs.

manu said:
Chevaliar was a very wild ride, that manga had a bigger twist in its first chapter then all of Naruto part 2 combined. Can't say I stomached it to well but if this is what the first chapter had in stock I can't wait for more.
I'm glad you liked Chevalier. It's one of my favorites as well. I'm a sucker for the stories of the period. Second chapter should be released soon after the holidays, depending on when the translation will be done.

Yeste, we seem to be getting a lot of people willing to help which is great. Good luck to your group as well. I'm a big FMA fan.
 

ArgoW

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I want to learn all that is to learn about giving translated manga to the ppl that dont have it :P
 

gunajoot

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Hie...

i am interested in helping out as well. But i have minimal experience in these stuffs. Hope to learn from you guys and then help u guys. Summer break is just too long and i belive i will have alot more time to do this.

Thanks ;)
 
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