Monster Musume v04 translation(Seven Seas)

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tallos
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2014 4:34 pm

Monster Musume v04 translation(Seven Seas)

Post by tallos »

I am honestly disappointed in the Seven Seas translation of Monster Musume v04.

Problems with the translation:
Trying to shove "itsy bitsy" into everything Rachnera says as it completely changes the way she speaks. Once or twice is fine, 11 times in a chapter, or once every 5 speech bubbles is both unfunny and lazy, at least think up new spider jokes for each time she uses one.
Changing Rachnera nickname to Spidey in place of Rachnee or Rachnee-san which are used in the Japanese version, they are plays on Nee-san(elder sister) as she is the eldest monster girl at the household.
Changing the name of Polt the Kobold to Port. Seriously what happened here, you got all the other characters names right except this one.

I really hope this trend of over-localizing the comedy does not continue in Monster Musume, it really takes away from the quality of the translation especially compared to some of the other Seven Seas translations like Arpeggio which is excellent.

mysticx
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 2:02 pm

Re: Monster Musume v04 translation(Seven Seas)

Post by mysticx »

Well, when i re-read volume 4, i found that while overused (just an itsy-bitsy bit ;) ), the frequency of Rachnee's stock phrase wasn't all that grating, it would still be nice if the translators can string together a couple of other spider- or insect-related puns, just don't EVER call her "Spidey" again. X(

As for Polt: her japanese name is probably "Poruto", and that can be translated both as "Polt" and "Port", though i agree "Polt" is better (Matches her species name better too)

Those niggles aside, i love the Seven seas version of "Monster musume", it's close to the meaning of the text in the scanlation version (I read the scanlation and buy the english GNs as they come out, think i'm breaking even on the ol' karma this way ;) ), and the Rachnee-issue aside adds animal-puns without it becoming annoying (Also love the "Metal gear solid"-reference in chapter 18), so keep up the good work! :-bd

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Weertangel
Posts: 594
Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2013 9:37 am
Location: Weert,The Netherlands.where life was good,once...

Re: Monster Musume v04 translation(Seven Seas)

Post by Weertangel »

Well, the OP is right in that some of the new strange nicknames and such really can be irritating, especially if(like me) u also read the online scans before and think they at least stick a little to original.
So,to the translators, try to learn something from the scans as well as the original japanese and make it fun for all of us.

Conner Crooks
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 6:12 pm

Re: Monster Musume v04 translation(Seven Seas)

Post by Conner Crooks »

tallos wrote:I am honestly disappointed in the Seven Seas translation of Monster Musume v04.

Problems with the translation:
Trying to shove "itsy bitsy" into everything Rachnera says as it completely changes the way she speaks. Once or twice is fine, 11 times in a chapter, or once every 5 speech bubbles is both unfunny and lazy, at least think up new spider jokes for each time she uses one.
Changing Rachnera nickname to Spidey in place of Rachnee or Rachnee-san which are used in the Japanese version, they are plays on Nee-san(elder sister) as she is the eldest monster girl at the household.
Changing the name of Polt the Kobold to Port. Seriously what happened here, you got all the other characters names right except this one.

I really hope this trend of over-localizing the comedy does not continue in Monster Musume, it really takes away from the quality of the translation especially compared to some of the other Seven Seas translations like Arpeggio which is excellent.
Hey there, sorry for answering this so late!

In regards to the speech quirks of characters, and the general tone of our Monster Musume adaptation, our goal (first and foremost) is to ensure it reads well in English. That is to say, we don't want bland, uninteresting dialog that bares no wit or charm. This helps readers identify each character with their own quirks, as it should be.

Now, as for changes...we will be changing "Port" to "Polt" in subsequent reprints. It only appeared once in volume 4, but nevertheless, the change has been made. Regarding Rachnera's usage of "itsy bitsy," we'll be tweaking lines of dialog in chapter 1. We are listening to fans, and we do take to heart of what has been said. The modified reprints of Monster Musume, vol.4 will likely start appearing early this month.

Hope I was able to answer your question, tallos.

-Conner Crooks
Associate Editor, Social Media Liaison

tallos
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2014 4:34 pm

Re: Monster Musume v04 translation(Seven Seas)

Post by tallos »

Wow, nice to see stuff actually got changed due to user feedback. Thank you for listening to the users.

I still hope you review the nickname the girls use for Rachnera and switch to Rachnee for future volumes, the other characters make jokes based on her being called Rachnee (elder sister spider) in future chapters. The Spidey joke has also played itself out, i know myself and some other readers dislike it.

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