Forum › Posts by Seira

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joined Mar 22, 2014

Here's a new translation that just started. I spoke with the translator and told them about the Amawashi translation but they said they just wanted to do it because they love the story. They said they're going to try to get caught up as soon as possible by doing a couple chapters a day but some of us know how that went with the other translation so we'll see how it goes. They even offered to translate the new chapters as they come out but I said they shouldn't put too much work on their plate and they should just focus on getting caught up. It's not as perfect as the Amawashi translation as they're not a native English speaker but it's definitely better than the MTL or chatGPT.

https://app.yoru.world/en/story/380

I just saw this after replying to your email to me.

My biggest concern isn't necessarily being "sniped" or having the series taken over. Ultimately, I want to have the readers' best interests at heart, so if there's a translator out there that does a better and faster job than me at it, I would not mind passing the torch over provided that they contact me first and can show they'll deliver releases at equal or higher quality. I know it's a bit hypocritical of me to want to be notified first, considering I also just came in and started translating it without contacting Story Seedling first, but in my mind, I viewed it as somewhat fair game considering it's mostly MTL.

That all being said, I read over the translation in the link you posted. Let me start by saying I fully acknowledge the translator is doing this in good fun, as in, they are doing this because this is their way of expressing love towards the series. Some people draw fan art, some people write fan fiction, and some people translate. I completely understand this line of thinking.

Their translation is definitely better than the MTL or ChatGPT, but I think they would serve to benefit more by translating the newest chapters as they come out. Of course, I can't control what they choose to do, but from my personal point of view, I don't think the chapters they have currently released are better than mine. I have noticed plenty of mistakes (both translation and grammar) from what they have posted already, but I also realize they are doing this as more of a passion project, so criticism or corrections may not necessarily be welcome.

Though, I do have two main concerns. I find that ShuuKura benefits more from being written in past tense than present tense. In Japanese, this type of separation doesn't exist, so it's up to the translator to choose which to write in. For a story that leans so heavily into introspection, I feel like ShuuKura reads better as if the characters are looking back on events that have happened, considering how deep these two are in their own heads.

Secondly, while this translation is better than the MTL version or ChatGPT, I'm concerned about what the translation being hosted on https://app.yoru.world/en implies. Just a quick glance at the website shows me that it uses AI to translate a good number of the other novels they are hosting, and that it costs money to buy chapters. This isn't necessarily going to be the case with this translation of ShuuKura, but I'm worried this means that maybe the chapters are translated with AI, but just heavily edited. I will have to take a closer look at their posts again to double-check.

Again, while I can't control what the other translator does, I would like to kindly request that they don't post their translations on Novel Updates. But they can continue translating otherwise if they so choose. The only exception to this is if they want to snipe from Story Seedling (i.e. by translating the newest chapters as they come out) - then I have no qualms about seeing them up on Novel Updates.

Finally, I DEEPLY apologize if their translation is not AI-generated or AI-assisted and I just accused them of something unsavory. One of my biggest concerns (lol, I know I said I only had two, but hear me out) is that the translator is so able to push out several chapters from older volumes and the newer chapters in one day. For the record, while I'm not the fastest worker and I get distracted super easily, the most I've been able to do in one day is 3 chapters (or parts - it means the same thing here), and that took up my entire day with full concentration. I'm talking little sleep, little time to eat. Literally just sitting in front of my PC for 16h. It generally takes me anywhere between 2-4 hours to translate one part (distractions included, but I am usually pretty focused for an hour at a time), and very little of this has to do with me "deciphering" the words from Japanese to English. It takes a hecking long, LOOONG time to rewrite the sentences and turn something that only makes sense in Japanese and make it make sense in English. I also get stuck on dialogue sometimes while trying to make it sound perfectly natural, like something high school girls would actually say in real life.

What I'm getting at here is, even if you sat down in front of the PC for 20 hours and worked faster than me, I cannot imagine that it would be easy to crank out anywhere between 3-4 parts a day without other forms of tools or assistance, unless this just happens to be your job.

last edited at Sep 11, 2024 4:22PM

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joined Mar 22, 2014

https://amawashigroup.wordpress.com/2024/08/28/interlude-2-what-miyagi-did-to-me-on-a-rainy-day/comment-page-1

Volume 2 interlude.

To my knowledge, Story Seedling doesn't do interludes or volume extras, right?

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joined Mar 22, 2014

Just outta curiosity, is there any Discord server for discussing ShuuKura?

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joined Mar 22, 2014

Sorry for the super delay on the next part. I went for an extended sleepover at a friend's house for like, a week as a vacation LOL. New part will be out soon.

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joined Mar 22, 2014

Lol, this is really reminding me of that high school friend I had, whose mother also mysteriously left one day in her childhood and whose father worked such long hours, he was never at home. I'm not Sendai (unfortunately - I'd love to have her level of patience), but I can definitely see why she feels most at ease around Miyagi, despite her being the stray cat that she is. Perhaps I'm just biased.

I've only vaguely been aware of this and kind of mentally wrote this off as Miyagi's abandonment issues from her mother being projected onto Sendai. I'll add it to the list of subtle things I missed when reading the MTL.

I don't necessarily think this is an MTL/human translation thing, but more of just my interpretation. Sendai is constantly thinking of Miyagi and wanting to be close to her, yet she's always doing some mental gymnastics in her head, trying to convince herself it's not really like that even when she knows that it is. If Sendai's true feelings towards Miyagi are like a 10/10 in terms of intensity, it feels like when she actually talks to Miyagi, she's constantly trying to downplay it to like maybe a 5/10. Of course, Sendai seems to be the type to show her love through actions far more consistently than words, but it might be confusing for Miyagi because it could come off as saying one thing, then doing something else.

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joined Mar 22, 2014

I'm on Team Miyagi not because I think she's "more in the right," but because I just like her as a character, LOL. Miyagi is great at producing the drama, and her actions are often pretty consistent with her feelings. I like that she's uncompromising, unyielding and a major pain in the ass, though it's certainly not what I'd like in a real person.

Sendai has the patience of a saint and pushes things along quite often, always chasing down Miyagi when the latter runs away. I think she's also a pain in the ass and if we viewed the story entirely from Miyagi's POV, I'd be scared of Sendai too. The way Sendai plays it cool all the time (even though we, as the audience, know better) makes it seem like she constantly has one foot out the door even if it isn't the case. I do acknowledge that Sendai goes above and beyond for Miyagi's sake, though. The way she gives Miyagi affection and the way she thinks about her all the time is very sweet.

But Miyagi certainly doesn't make their lives any easier and I would say she's probably the more difficult one to deal with because her partner has to be walking on eggshells all the time. Although they're fictional characters, I'd say I like Sendai's personality traits more in real life, but Miyagi is definitely more interesting as a character to me.

last edited at Aug 5, 2024 10:40PM

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joined Mar 22, 2014

Yeah, Miyagi does seem to get villainized quite often. I mean, it's hard not to blame her when she's the one who instigated this whole thing, but then backs off whenever the going gets tough. Of course, we find out pretty early on that Sendai is as much of a pain in the ass Miyagi is, just in a different way. Both of them are afraid of being hurt. Miyagi protects herself by trying to hurt Sendai before the latter can hurt her, which means Miyagi will often act coldly or distant towards Sendai to pressure her into leaving. After all, it's a bit easier to accept being left behind when you're the one in control of when it happens.

Meanwhile, Sendai protects herself by playing it cool all the time, which often means hiding her feelings and acting like nothing bothers her, which can feel incredibly insincere and I can see why Miyagi has difficulties trusting her intentions. Sendai's the type who will say one thing (to play it cool), but then do something entirely different (acting on her real feelings).

At least, that's my assessment of the two characters pre-graduation.

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joined Mar 22, 2014

can i just take this opportunity to thank u for all the translation work you've done on shuukura, you've done an amazing job !!!

shuukura is actually the first ever web/light novel i've ever read in my life and im glad it was because its so good and has seriously been my latest obsession now, i get so happy when there's a new release on your wordpress and for some reason i somehow always catch you upload a new part right on time when i coincidentally visit LOL. im so glad it was your translations i had the pleasure of reading first instead of the mtl :D

Thank you! I'm flattered to hear that ShuuKura has served as an introduction to web/light novels for you, LOL.

In general, Miyagi feels much more nuanced and less cold and distant in your translation than she does in the MTLs.
Frankly, MTL Miyagi pisses me off at times and makes me think Sendai could do better. But in your translation Miyagi comes off as kinda cute with her petulant attempts to maintain distance between her and Sendai.

I'm the same as you and felt that Miyagi seemed a bit more cold and distant in the MTL.

I did know somebody a lot like Miyagi (who had an eerily similar family situation as Miyagi) in high school, and she was simultaneously the most frustrating and the most interesting person I knew. As strange as it sounds, I felt like I wanted to do Miyagi's character justice in honor of her, lol. Not that I'm a superb writer or anything, but at the very least, I didn't want Miyagi to be portrayed as so villainous compared to the MTL.

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joined Mar 22, 2014

The 5k yen in ShuuKura is exactly as described in the title... an excuse to spend time together, LOL.

As someone who read through the MTL for like, the first 30 parts (and super skimmed through a handful more after), I'm actually kind of curious about something. The MTL technically does a good enough job of telling you what major events happen and you can infer what the characters are feeling, but for those of you who have read both the MTL and my releases, just how much of a difference does it make? Anyone have any specific examples?

I'm assuming it comes down to the little things, but apart from that, were there any major differences for certain events or perhaps misinterpretations/mistranslations?

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joined Mar 22, 2014

I've never read the LN for Arioto and I don't remember the intricate details of the manga either, but I feel like the only thing ShuuKura and Arioto have in common is the "Pay for gay" tag, lol.

Do correct me if I'm wrong though.

last edited at Aug 3, 2024 8:37PM

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joined Mar 22, 2014

Non-MTL translator here. I'm here to comment on this very lonely thread for no other reason than to say hi.

I'm going on vacation for about a week soon, so I'll try to have part 67 out before then... but someone's going to have to manage to kick me off Teamfight Tactics first. :^)

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joined Mar 22, 2014

I like how the last few pages went like:

"I-I'm not a witch..."
"She's not a witch!"

"... A witch?"

Seira
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joined Mar 22, 2014

I’m a the only one worry when i read the Title of the chapters? LIKE! the LAST chapters? saying something about one sided love or something????

GUYS! I’m afraid that this won’t have an clear happy ending so I’m gonna wait untill all chapters are out and read your sufferings if the ending is actually one of thous :3

I read ahead precisely because I had the same worries and all I have to say is fortunately, it's not what you'd think.

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joined Mar 22, 2014

Well, I'm about to come in hot with a shameless self-plug, but for those interested in following the translation of the web novel, I'm currently trying to pump some chapters out on: https://amawashigroup.wordpress.com/

I'm also (very) slowly catching up on ShuuKura (another yuri web novel that a few people have mentioned here already) as well.

Do note that both of those series are currently also being translated by someone else, and they are way, way ahead of me. But they likely use MTL translations with some edits here and there just to get chapters out faster (please note that as a result, a lot of nuance gets missed and some parts can be incorrect as well). The website they host those chapters on also has a paid "coin" system to read the most recent chapters as soon as they come out as well.

I won't name-drop their group here (primarily because I am against their "coin" system), but you can find them by visiting the NovelUpdates page for this series here: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/a-story-about-losing-all-my-first-experiences-after-suffering-defeat-at-the-hands-of-my-twisted-genius-of-a-childhood-friend/

I 100% understand and respect those who want to read ahead. I am very far behind, so I think it's super reasonable (and it's exactly what I would do as a reader, lol). The MTL is still readable! At the end of the day, the only thing I wish for is for more people to get into this series, as well as ShuuKura (which will probably see an increase in readership very soon).

last edited at Feb 29, 2024 9:46PM

Seira
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joined Mar 22, 2014

Commenting to remind myself that this is definitely one of the stories of all time

Honestly doing the same here.

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joined Mar 22, 2014

They remind me of Risa & Miya.

Oh man, two names I did not expect to see today.

Seira
It's You! discussion 04 Feb 21:35
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joined Mar 22, 2014

Yep, I also love Hinazumi...

Seira
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joined Mar 22, 2014

What a damn adorable chapter!
I wonder who the new girl is. She seems related to Lily somehow.
She probably means trouble.
Thanks for the chapter!

I'm pretty sure that's Lily's sister (not sure of their relationship) who bullied her in chapter 2.

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joined Mar 22, 2014
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^ I'm actually translating the web novel right now, although I'm kind of taking it slow. It only has 33 chapters + an epilogue (if I'm remembering this correctly at the top of my head).

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joined Mar 22, 2014

They're finally living together.

Only took 11 years.

You just murdered me by reminding me how long I've been following this series...

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joined Mar 22, 2014

Diana is cute and good intentioned, but I can't root for someone that after all this time still can't say her crushes name right nor makes any attempt to try. Like, Lapis makes a lot of effort to get to know Natori, even if in the beginning only to manipulate her. Diana has really only been receiving. Even this right here is an example of her not really interested in knowing what Natori wants, but more about competing with the person she views as her rival. Realistically, she's kind of a shitty suitor.

I think it was mentioned somewhere by the mangaka that because Lapis and Gran are nobles (and thus have received more formal and strict education), they are fluent in more languages and can capture accents and dialects better than the average person. Natori... despite not being all too difficult to pronounce, is a foreign name, which is why it's supposedly harder on Diana to get the pronunciation down right. Also, they're probably not speaking Japanese in that world, so maybe something else is at play here. I dunno, but I'm choosing to believe this explanation.

EDIT: Oops, ended up posting this comment a little late, but point still stands, haha.

On a side note, I like how Diana actually gives off "main character" vibes instead of getting sidelined in a way. A lot of villainess manga I read simply tell us "oh, that girl over there is the main heroine, but anyway..." and then the villainess proceeds to take over and derail the story until we don't see the heroine anymore, but I like that Diana is still the "hero" and that this is still "her" story in a way.

last edited at Dec 6, 2023 10:17PM

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joined Mar 22, 2014
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It should be a parody of "A Story About Losing All My First Experiences After Suffering Defeat at the Hands of My Twisted Genius of a Childhood Friend."

It's a web novel that came out in 2022 (the physical light novel just released, however). The reason why Yuu & Ayumu are being drawn here is because the VAs for them (Yano Hinaki & Oonishi Aguri respectively) were also cast as the MCs of said novel for a promotional video.

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joined Mar 22, 2014

it's incredibly amusing to me that the art goes from standard SoL fare to extremely fucking horny at the drop of a hat

You're so right. I love it LOL

Seira
Asako discussion 17 Oct 12:51
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joined Mar 22, 2014

I got impatient and searched for the raws after binge reading this, but passed out from fatigue as I skimmed through them (horribly out of order because I wanted to see how it ended LOL) and ended up having a dream about the events of Asako. While I personally can't relate to any of the characters, the story was very interesting and I feel like it'll stay with me for a while.

Thanks for posting this here (and on reddit), Daphie! I actually only clicked it because of the controversy warning, lol.