Her NICKNAME is a combination of ニート (NEET) and 子(ko: child/girl) = ニー子 (Neeko). Her real name, as seen on the cover, is 新戸眠子 (Niito Nemuko).

Read more carefully before making accusations, please.

Whether or not it's her nickname, "ニー子" would not be romanized as "Neeko." I don't think I need to explain to you why. ニ　is always "ni," phonetically and in all of the accepted transliteration systems. Anyone with any familiarity with reading Japanese names would read "Neeko" as the same sound as "ネー子", onee-san, etc.

It's not an accusation, it's a statement of fact.

I'll say it again, NEEKO is a combination of ニート (NEET) and 子(ko). NEET is spelled Niito in Japanese. Her nickname being like that is a reference to her being a NEET.
Besides, anyone who knows how NEET is read, both in English and Japanese, will read her name exactly the same way it is written in Japanese, Nii-ko, hence ニー子. Nobody will read it as ネー子.

last edited at Nov 3, 2017 9:15AM

This is awesome! Thanks for the scans and translations!

Make a Twitch account
Play videogames
?????
Profit

I'm surprised her mom doesn't nag her about getting married. Is this manga really set in Japan?

Alternatively, she could just go into the porn industry -- with curves like that, she'd be cast right away.

While the first sentence is on the mark (I thought the same thing), the second one makes me wince.

Like "Can't find a job? A good looking body? Just become a porn-star or a prostitute, duh!".

That disgusts me and makes me furious at the same time. Not specifically at you, but at our societies in which such statements are seen as funny or taken lightly. It says a ton about how women are viewed.

Make a Twitch account
Play videogames
?????
Profit

I'm surprised her mom doesn't nag her about getting married. Is this manga really set in Japan?

Alternatively, she could just go into the porn industry -- with curves like that, she'd be cast right away.

While the first sentence is on the mark (I thought the same thing), the second one makes me wince.

Like "Can't find a job? A good looking body? Just become a porn-star or a prostitute, duh!".

That disgusts me and makes me furious at the same time. Not specifically at you, but at our societies in which such statements are seen as funny or taken lightly. It says a ton about how women are viewed.

Really?

Neeko in this case, assume she can’t change her way, can still has the option of prostitution (doubt it as that industry does require great social skills). More likely married off as housewife.

If it was a guy, he will be literally worthless trash and have zero value.

Talking about how women got it hard from society.

last edited at Nov 3, 2017 10:01AM

^Hmm wat? Your point?

^Hmm wat? Your point?

You were outrage at a nonstory

I was just somewhat angry that the first thing some people think when they see an out of job woman is "oh, she has a nice bod, she should do porn : problem solved".

If you think it's something normal to think, okay.

Think again.

last edited at Nov 3, 2017 11:18AM

I was just somewhat angry that the first thing some people think when they see an out of job woman is "oh, she has a nice bod, she should do porn : problem solved".

If you think it's something normal to think, okay.

Think again.

If it makes you feel any better, my comment on Neeko's situation would be exactly the same if she were a ripped and well-hung dude. :-)

last edited at Nov 3, 2017 2:00PM

I'll say it again, NEEKO is a combination of ニート (NEET) and 子(ko). NEET is spelled Niito in Japanese. Her nickname being like that is a reference to her being a NEET.
Besides, anyone who knows how NEET is read, both in English and Japanese, will read her name exactly the same way it is written in Japanese, Nii-ko, hence ニー子. Nobody will read it as ネー子.

I'll say it again, you're romanizing the Japanese pronunciation of an English loan word, and as such it should be done (IMO) phonetically, not trying to mimic the original acronym. If you wanted to do that you should do it as NEE-ko, which would be distracting. The joke doesn't work in translation so it's better to just write the name pronouncably correct.

I disagree with your translation choice here. But I do thank you for all the cool stuff you translate, it's a lot of work I know.

I'll say it again, NEEKO is a combination of ニート (NEET) and 子(ko). NEET is spelled Niito in Japanese. Her nickname being like that is a reference to her being a NEET.
Besides, anyone who knows how NEET is read, both in English and Japanese, will read her name exactly the same way it is written in Japanese, Nii-ko, hence ニー子. Nobody will read it as ネー子.

I'll say it again, you're romanizing the Japanese pronunciation of an English loan word, and as such it should be done (IMO) phonetically, not trying to mimic the original acronym. If you wanted to do that you should do it as NEE-ko, which would be distracting. The joke doesn't work in translation so it's better to just write the name pronouncably correct.

I disagree with your translation choice here. But I do thank you for all the cool stuff you translate, it's a lot of work I know.

You know, just ask anyone you know who know Japanese, or just people on this site, see how they would translate and read that. Cause apparently, you aren't willing to understand what I'm saying at all. I'm done trying to explain.

And thanks for reading and liking the stuff I do.

I'll say it again, NEEKO is a combination of ニート (NEET) and 子(ko). NEET is spelled Niito in Japanese. Her nickname being like that is a reference to her being a NEET.
Besides, anyone who knows how NEET is read, both in English and Japanese, will read her name exactly the same way it is written in Japanese, Nii-ko, hence ニー子. Nobody will read it as ネー子.

I'll say it again, you're romanizing the Japanese pronunciation of an English loan word, and as such it should be done (IMO) phonetically, not trying to mimic the original acronym. If you wanted to do that you should do it as NEE-ko, which would be distracting. The joke doesn't work in translation so it's better to just write the name pronouncably correct.

Ok, you are missing the point so freaking much...

1. There is no such thing as pronounceably correct. Every single language has different way to write the sounds so they will be correctly pronounce.
2. This is a japanese>english translation, as in, it is meant to be understood by english speaking people, hence if you are going to preach about any correct spelling, you should be looking if the spelling is correct in english.
3. While jps word ニート is indeed the loan word of NEET, it is still used in that exact meaning. It could make sense if the loan word gained new interpretations or connotation, but as far as I know, the word is used the same in both jps and english, so in fact, you should be writing it as NEET. If it was a sentence I can imagine leaving it in "correct spelling" would actually look jarring. "I'm currently a niito."
4. The way jps spell things isn't sacred or anything. They just happened to spell most of their stuff phonetically unlike english. In fact, they actually try to write english words the closest possible to english pronunciation using their language to write it "pronounceably correct". In every instant where they can, they actually do spell it NEET. There is no point obsessing about how jps spell something and instead you should spell it the way you know how to read it.
5. I can understand where you are coming from though. When I saw tittle i wasn't sure which way I should read it as well, but after seeing the chapter, it was pretty clear it was the joke on the word NEET. If I have to say anything I actually don't know if people will get it for different reason. To me it is clear it is a play on words NEET by adding ko to it, which is a common way to end names, so by extension creating nicknames. But I'm not sure average person will catch on it and realize the "Nee" in "Neeko" is indeed the "Nee" from NEET and the "ko" part is just meant for making it a name. Maybe I'm thinking too deep into it, but just recently I realized that some things that are obvious to me at this point, might not be to new readers or someone who is new to manga and jps in general. Ignoring the spelling, maybe a short tl note somewhere explaining the gag might not be bad idea in this case. Alternatively trying to turn NEET into actual english name/nickname, but that could turn out even worse.
6. Honestly, whatever you write it as "Neeko" or "NEE-ko" is the least important thing as long as it works. In fact writing it as NEEko, might actually work better as a short-cut that "nee" is part of NEET and fix my issue from point above.
7. While some jokes are indeed hard or even impossible to translate, it doesn't mean you shouldn't at least try, since simply ignoring them is just as bad.

You know, just ask anyone you know who know Japanese, or just people on this site, see how they would translate and read that. Cause apparently, you aren't willing to understand what I'm saying at all. I'm done trying to explain.

And thanks for reading and liking the stuff I do.

I have a degree in Japanese from a good university. I have studied the language for 18 years now, and studied in Japan for a year in college. I don't need to ask anyone, I know what is correct per my education. We clearly disagree. I dunno why you're being a dick about it, but I wasn't trying to be.

You know, just ask anyone you know who know Japanese, or just people on this site, see how they would translate and read that. Cause apparently, you aren't willing to understand what I'm saying at all. I'm done trying to explain.

And thanks for reading and liking the stuff I do.

I have a degree in Japanese from a good university. I have studied the language for 18 years now, and studied in Japan for a year in college. I don't need to ask anyone, I know what is correct per my education.

That explains why you worship jps so much. Go read raws then instead of wasting time on inferior translations since you clearly don't need them. We don't need people who try to be smug about their knowledge here.

That explains why you worship jps so much. Go read raws then instead of wasting time on inferior translations since you clearly don't need them. We don't need people who try to be smug about their knowledge here.

I wasn't gonna bother replying to this, much like I didn't reply to your previous wall of text (since I was talking to Stan, who was/is more than capable of making his own point even if I don't agree with it). But it's just too absurd not to.

Really? You've concluded I "worship" a nationality because I made a comment about a tiny translation choice in a forgettable ecchi manga? (Nice job with the almost-slur there too.)

"We?" So you speak for the site administrators and everyone here, that offering translation criticism is "smug" and has no place here?

I never said anything or anyone was inferior. I have read bad translations. Very bad ones. And good ones. I read them because reading raws (which I do as well for some things) is obviously more difficult than in my native language. It's convenient and I appreciate the effort the translation teams have gone through. I happen to think Stan does overall a pretty good job, but that's beside the point. Putting someone down for not being perfect at something they are doing for fun and for free is uncalled for and I wouldn't do that. But if you can't graciously receive (or watch others receive) constructive criticism you're gonna have issues in more than just your manga hobby.

Ok, you are missing the point so freaking much...

Thank you for this whole post, it gives great insight into a translator's point of view, which clearly is different from a student of Japanese's point of view.

Interestingly, it reminds me of a passage from the Love My Life manga where the experienced eng>jps translator father is advising his daughter/apprentice to focus not on direct translation but to discern what the author is trying to get across.

Make a Twitch account
Play videogames
?????
Profit

I'm surprised her mom doesn't nag her about getting married. Is this manga really set in Japan?

Alternatively, she could just go into the porn industry -- with curves like that, she'd be cast right away.

I mean sure but then this would be het and thats just no good. :3

Make a Twitch account
Play videogames
?????
Profit

I'm surprised her mom doesn't nag her about getting married. Is this manga really set in Japan?

Alternatively, she could just go into the porn industry -- with curves like that, she'd be cast right away.

I mean sure but then this would be het and thats just no good. :3

There is a huge market for lesbian porn, even domestically in Japan. Just sayin'...

last edited at Nov 7, 2017 11:48AM

Neeko's old school friend really shoulda been named Ashigyaru

I don't know what it is about Japanese that makes people so anal-retentive about romanizations. I've never seen students of Chinese Korean or Hindi or Farsi argue that things must be romanized a specific way. And most of those languages are impossible to pronounce romanized words without having at least a cursory understanding of the language's pronunciation rules.

But then it comes to Japanese and it is only ever acceptable to do it a single way, and that single way must maximize readability for English speakers. (Though anyone experienced in the Japanese language that has heard people without much knowledge of it try to pronounce words romanized in that supposedly most readable romanization can tell you that's total bullshit and the words are still all pronounced completely wrong.)

PS: That's how they officially write the title.

I don't know what it is about Japanese that makes people so anal-retentive about romanizations. I've never seen students of Chinese Korean or Hindi or Farsi argue that things must be romanized a specific way. And most of those languages are impossible to pronounce romanized words without having at least a cursory understanding of the language's pronunciation rules.

But then it comes to Japanese and it is only ever acceptable to do it a single way, and that single way must maximize readability for English speakers. (Though anyone experienced in the Japanese language that has heard people without much knowledge of it try to pronounce words romanized in that supposedly most readable romanization can tell you that's total bullshit and the words are still all pronounced completely wrong.)

PS: That's how they officially write the title.

Haha It's nice that you offered the actual title after this whole exchange. I understand what he was saying but isn't context and inferred meaning one of the huge factors in translation especially in japanese.

Welp, Nagata Kabi this author is not.

I hate to say it, but I can't get over how attractive Neeko is. Porn idea is terrible, but looks do help you in a job interview from what I've heard. Seems like she has a decent number of people who are trying be friends with her, but she's too scared of rejection to deal with life. Hopefully Chiro will keep trying.

last edited at Nov 21, 2017 3:19AM

She is the hottest neet I've ever seen.

... I am astounded at all the arguing about how there should be only one acceptable way to romanize Neeko's name when the Japanese themselves explicitly have more than acceptable way to romanize words from their own language and to transliterate ones from other languages into Japanese. No, seriously. You have Hepburn, you have Kunrei-shiki, you have Nihon-shiki, you have JSL, you have Wāpuro... and that's just on the romanization side. Then there's the fact that when romanized into Japanese, the words "meet" and "meat" are written and pronounced exactly the same way (miito), and the "i" in "elite" and "ee" in "leet" are rendered in the exact same way (ii).

Fun fact: I haven't had any formal studies into the language, and yet I know all of this already.

I don't feel bad for her anymore haha, she just wants to have it easy.
Oh we have the official name and oooooh Miller got it right, nice job Miller

last edited at Nov 21, 2017 9:16AM