[RAILGUN] General translation comments thread

[GenericUser]

Hello! I wasn't sure whether it's better to comment in e-mail or in the forum.Thank you very much for licensing A Certain Scientific Railgun! I feel the Index and Railgun series deserves more recognition in the west.

So far I find your translation is pretty good, but there are some things I wish to remark on:

1. Touma's "I have no luck." I think it's really supposed to be like "such misfortune!" Misfortune is a big part of Touma's character. It isn't that he has no luck, he has BAD luck. Plus, "such misfortune" is catchier.

2. Espers vs. Psychics. Is there a particular reason for choosing psychics? I don't really mind either way. I've just been used to espers for a while.

3. This one is important. Mikoto Misaka being called the "Star of Tokiwadai" instead of the ACE of Tokiwadai. I really do not see why this was changed. Especially when calling her the Star instead of the Ace is going to cause problems later. There is a character that is called the Queen of Tokiwadai. Basically, we have a card theme going, and if Mikoto isn't called the Ace the card theme is lost.


#1 and #2 are really opinion-based, but #3 I think you guys should watch out for.

Thank you for taking the time to read/respond to this.

[Adam_Arnold]

Thanks for your comments, GenericUser. Glad to have you on the forum.

2. Espers vs. Psychics. Is there a particular reason for choosing psychics? I don't really mind either way. I've just been used to espers for a while.

We went with psychic/psychics, as it's the term that the English-speaking world is more accustomed to and easier to instantly understand. (Nintendo probably changed their Pokemon from "Esper type" to "Psychic type" for similar reasons.)

3. This one is important. Mikoto Misaka being called the "Star of Tokiwadai" instead of the ACE of Tokiwadai. I really do not see why this was changed. Especially when calling her the Star instead of the Ace is going to cause problems later. There is a character that is called the Queen of Tokiwadai. Basically, we have a card theme going, and if Mikoto isn't called the Ace the card theme is lost.

Our translator likely wasn't aware of the card theme when he translated the first book, and because the Queen doesn't make an appearance in the first volume, the only thing we could go on was the context of the scene itself. Hence, we went with what sounded right (i.e. "star"). If we can fix this in a future reprint of book 1, we will.

[Lean Pocket]

Our translator likely wasn't aware of the card theme when he translated the first book, and because the Queen doesn't make an appearance in the first volume, the only thing we could go on was the context of the scene itself. Hence, we went with what sounded right (i.e. "star"). If we can fix this in a future reprint of book 1, we will.

I don't think it has a card theme (I could be wrong not knowing authors purposes), but I was thinking it would be Ace of Tokiwadai since the anime and novels say it in English.


Of course Japanese say Acu (emphasis on "u")

[GenericUser]

Thanks for your comments, GenericUser. Glad to have you on the forum.

2. Espers vs. Psychics. Is there a particular reason for choosing psychics? I don't really mind either way. I've just been used to espers for a while.

We went with psychic/psychics, as it's the term that the English-speaking world is more accustomed to and easier to instantly understand. (Nintendo probably changed their Pokemon from "Esper type" to "Psychic type" for similar reasons.)

I guess that makes sense. I was just curious.

3. This one is important. Mikoto Misaka being called the "Star of Tokiwadai" instead of the ACE of Tokiwadai. I really do not see why this was changed. Especially when calling her the Star instead of the Ace is going to cause problems later. There is a character that is called the Queen of Tokiwadai. Basically, we have a card theme going, and if Mikoto isn't called the Ace the card theme is lost.

Our translator likely wasn't aware of the card theme when he translated the first book, and because the Queen doesn't make an appearance in the first volume, the only thing we could go on was the context of the scene itself. Hence, we went with what sounded right (i.e. "star"). If we can fix this in a future reprint of book 1, we will.

I see. I hope your translator manages to catch that before the second volume comes out.

I don't think it has a card theme (I could be wrong not knowing authors purposes), but I was thinking it would be Ace of Tokiwadai since the anime and novels say it in English.

Huh, didn't even notice.

Well, I suspect it's a card theme, too, unless Ace and Queen are just a big coincidence.

[Lean Pocket]

Thanks for your comments, GenericUser. Glad to have you on the forum.

2. Espers vs. Psychics. Is there a particular reason for choosing psychics? I don't really mind either way. I've just been used to espers for a while.

We went with psychic/psychics, as it's the term that the English-speaking world is more accustomed to and easier to instantly understand. (Nintendo probably changed their Pokemon from "Esper type" to "Psychic type" for similar reasons.)

I guess that makes sense. I was just curious.

3. This one is important. Mikoto Misaka being called the "Star of Tokiwadai" instead of the ACE of Tokiwadai. I really do not see why this was changed. Especially when calling her the Star instead of the Ace is going to cause problems later. There is a character that is called the Queen of Tokiwadai. Basically, we have a card theme going, and if Mikoto isn't called the Ace the card theme is lost.

Our translator likely wasn't aware of the card theme when he translated the first book, and because the Queen doesn't make an appearance in the first volume, the only thing we could go on was the context of the scene itself. Hence, we went with what sounded right (i.e. "star"). If we can fix this in a future reprint of book 1, we will.

I see. I hope your translator manages to catch that before the second volume comes out.

I don't think it has a card theme (I could be wrong not knowing authors purposes), but I was thinking it would be Ace of Tokiwadai since the anime and novels say it in English.

Huh, didn't even notice.

Well, I suspect it's a card theme, too, unless Ace and Queen are just a big coincidence.

Kuroko always says it.

[ProvidenceBreaker]

I'm pretty sure the literal translation is that he "has no luck". The only reason the fans still use "such misfortune" is because people are so used to it. Same thing with "esper". The word the Japanese use does not translate into esper at all. It's a more generalized term that most often applies to someone with psychic powers. I believe "ability user" is the correct translation, but that sounds lame as hell.

I agree with "Ace", but I highly doubt using "Star" will have any impact on the story whatsoever. Even if there is a card theme, I highly doubt Kamachi has any plans to actually utilize it. I think it was either a coincidence or him just being cute.

[ArchRoute]

Hello. I just registered to leave my opinion on some of the stuff I'm seeing here, specially as one who owns the original Japanese volumes.

First of all, Touma's line, "Fukou da" (picture).

The kanji in this sentence is 不幸.
Going with Jisho's dictionary, it means: "unhappiness; sorrow; misfortune; disaster; accident; death."
Along with the だ particle, it would mean "it's misfortune", or "it's not good luck". In a sense "I have no luck" isn't wrong, but that's not what it really means either, since Touma is just stating that what just happened was unfortunate. Like said before, it's not that he doesn't have luck. In other words, the literal translation is not "has no luck", but "it's not good luck".

Secondly, Ace vs Star (picture).
The word used in the original Japanese text is エース (eesu), literally meaning Ace. There's no room for mistranslating this, much less changing it from Ace to Star.

Third, ESPer vs Psychic. The students in Academy City have an AIM field made by their bodies, and that makes if "extrasensory" enough to make them be called espers. Plus, saying "psychic" makes it sound like it's magic, so a more "scientific-sounding" term would be a better choice.

Another reason to use "Such misfortune" and "esper" instead of "I have no luck" and "psychic" is simple - That's what the fanbase is used to, and to them it, doesn't matter if this translation is right as well. It's like trying to reinvent a catchphrase they know and love.

[Adam_Arnold]

Please keep in mind that our intention is not to do a literal translation (i.e. an academic translation). We are making a book intended for wide release in bookstores and online, so we rewrite/adapt all of our translations so that the text fits into the balloons, flows well when read, and to provide the best reading experience we can. We keep the original Japanese name order and honorifics, but we're still trying to reach as wide an audience as possible with our edition that can bring in new fans and appeal to existing ones.

[GenericUser]

Yeah, but we still just want you to know our concerns.

EDIT: Also, I'm pretty sure most people buying the Railgun manga are those who already know about the series.

[Adam_Arnold]

Yeah, but we still just want you to know our concerns.

EDIT: Also, I'm pretty sure most people buying the Railgun manga are those who already know about the series.

Right now, that is true. Our original plan was for the manga to come out at the same time as FUNimation's release of the Index anime so that our release would tie into that since there is no way the novels will ever come out here. However, the anime's release got delayed after our release plans for the manga had already been finalized. Even so, it's our hope that Index/Railgun's universe, despite it's complexity, is something that fans will be drawn to and want to learn more about. And hopefully, the rest of the parts of the puzzle (i.e. the anime) will find their way out later.

[Lean Pocket]

The only small problem I have is Ace and Star.

Toumas "I have no luck" fits fine since this is an english translation.

Same for esper and psychic. English readers and speaker are more familiar with the term psychics so that is definitely not a problem.

Also,

Right now, that is true. Our original plan was for the manga to come out at the same time as FUNimation's release of the Index anime so that our release would tie into that since there is no way the novels will ever come out here. However, the anime's release got delayed after our release plans for the manga had already been finalized. Even so, it's our hope that Index/Railgun's universe, despite it's complexity, is something that fans will be drawn to and want to learn more about. And hopefully, the rest of the parts of the puzzle (i.e. the anime) will find their way out later.

This makes me laugh since recently a anonymous person asked Funi when the Raildex anime be released and they said that it's not on the top of their list.

[Adam_Arnold]

There was quite the bottleneck caused by Japan's earthquake/tsunami earlier this year as far as licensing and materials are concerned. The ripples (i.e. delays) are still being felt even now, sadly.

[Riccha]

3. This one is important. Mikoto Misaka being called the "Star of Tokiwadai" instead of the ACE of Tokiwadai. I really do not see why this was changed. Especially when calling her the Star instead of the Ace is going to cause problems later. There is a character that is called the Queen of Tokiwadai. Basically, we have a card theme going, and if Mikoto isn't called the Ace the card theme is lost.

Our translator likely wasn't aware of the card theme when he translated the first book, and because the Queen doesn't make an appearance in the first volume, the only thing we could go on was the context of the scene itself. Hence, we went with what sounded right (i.e. "star"). If we can fix this in a future reprint of book 1, we will.

That's... rather strange. I have to agree with the others that changing it seems weird; especially since, unlike the Esper vs. Psychic debate, most of the English-speaking world would understand what is meant by 'Ace'- and it seems unnecessary to change a word that's already in English.
Thank you for taking our comments into account on this. If there is a reprint of volume 1 with this fixed, I'll probably buy myself a replacement copy, assuming I have a bit of spare cash at the time. I'm fussy about keeping my collections 'perfect', hahaha.

Anyway, I think I'm repeating my opinions from Tact's thread, but simply because I find this interesting I'll add a little more detail here:
I fully agree with using psychic(s) instead of esper(s). 'Psychic' might bring to mind wrong impressions on what kinds of powers exist in-universe, but the term 'esper' seems to imply only a small range of powers too; and that's only to people who know the origin of the word. To people who've never heard the term before, it would probably just be confusing.

As for the debate on the correct translation of Touma's catchphrase, I'll admit that I, too, am used to 'such misfortune', but I don't really mind any translation as long as it more or less conveys the same meaning. However, if you're trying to provide the best reading experience, I have to say that 'I have no luck' seems... awkward, I suppose. I have trouble imagining anyone saying that sentence while sounding anything but calmly dejected, so I can pre-emptively say that it will throw me off a bit while reading- because Touma often seems to be in high tension situations when saying it. Besides that, like GenericUser said, it's not really as catchy as 'such misfortune!'. So, to summarise, the translation itself doesn't bother me, but the clunkiness of the sentence does.


To conclude, because I think I forgot to mention it before (and just coming in here to complain feels bad, haha), but I too would like to express my gratitude to Seven Seas for licensing Railgun. Nothing feels better than owning a copy of a loved manga, and I really do adore most of the Raildex universe. Even if the novels will never have an official English release, and it's unlikely that the anime will be released in my region, it's nice to know that I can at least have something related to it on my shelves.

Please excuse any small mistakes in this post by the way. I actually haven't received my copy of volume 1 yet (because ordering through Amazon UK means a delay. Oh joy.), so I'm forming opinions based on other people's comments and my own imagination.

[Lord Styphon]

Plus, "such misfortune" is catchier.

Besides that, like GenericUser said, it's not really as catchy as 'such misfortune!'.

How is "such misfortune!" catchy, of all things? It might be catchy in Japanese, but in English it just sounds silly.

[ProvidenceBreaker]

I think people are overthinking this "fukouda" thing a bit much. If this were the Index novels or anime, I'd understand, but he doesn't really say it again in Railgun after volume 1. And I don't expect we'll see him say it again unless Kamachi does a Railgun version of the Daihaseisai and Penalty Game arcs.