Don't buy the Viz official translation. First of all, they got rid of all honorifics per their localization policy. It is okay in some cases, but I think a series that relies heavily on dialogue and nuance like this one suffers from such a change . And there are various consistency issues that stand out to a casual reader like me. Koyuki refers to Kaede by first name then switches to last name in the span of 4 pages (chapter 18). I guess the translator wanted to make the characters sound like they're on a first name basic (they aren't) but failed to apply the change consistently.
And then this blatant mistake in Koyuki's monologue (chapter 10) that could have been avoided with the slightest bit of attention:
In this scene Koyuki thinks about how she has changed because of Konatsu (fan translation). But apparently the translator didn't bother to remember the main character names, or he thought Konatsu was the one doing the monologue. Either way, this kind of careless mistake is unacceptable for an official translation from a major publisher. The quality control (or lack thereof) speaks volume about how little Viz cares about their products.
Mistakes aside, the translation zigzags between heavy localization at some points and playing it too safe at others. Early on the characters speak like stereotypical American teenagers (Can you imagine Koyuki ever exclaiming: "Oh man, this is gonna suck!"?) with a health dose of "yes ma'am" on the side. This is toned down soon, only to be replaced by dispassionate, by-the-book dialogue. At the fireworks scene (chapter 8) in fan translation, Konatsu asks Koyuki "Why did you call out to me when we first met?". The official version of this line is merely "Why did you speak to me?" which reduces the impact in my opinion.
It's not necessarily the translator's fault that this release quality is subpar. The translator, John Weery, is one of the main guys at Viz who are in charge of several weekly Shounen Jump series. Given his overwhelming workload on a weekly basic, it wouldn't be a surprise if this niche series wasn't high on his priorities (heck, he even made similar mistakes in the flagship mainstream series Demon Slayer). Not to mention that Nettaigyo is hardly similar to your average battle shounen in both tone and style. The real question is why Viz assigned this series to someone who was both overworked and unsuitable for the content, and why they failed to provide any degree of professional quality control/proofreading. Though we all know the answer is because they simply don't care.
/rant
TL/DR: Official translation is horrible with various mistakes, consistency issues, and overall just feels bland. Do yourself a favor and read the fan translation. Buy Japanese version if you want to support the author, but don't reward Viz for a botched job of a translation.
I know the posts right above were talking about her new serialization but according to Mangaupdates that seems to have ended already with a volume compilation being released a few weeks ago. Not sure if that's accurate.
I don't know where that poster got the info from, but I can't find any news about a serialization, let alone one with 10 chapters. Hagino Makoto's latest book that you mentioned is a collection of five short stories with sci-fi theme.
last edited at Jan 16, 2023 1:33AM