Zefiberyl Translations
joined Apr 11, 2011
I appreciate this release, but to be honest, I was taken right out of the story by the gratuitous profanity Chris is spouting on pretty much every page. As someone who's done localization myself, I'm always put off by this.
With a very few exceptions, Japanese really does not have words as harsh and vulgar as English swearing; with Japanese it's more about how you say things than the words you use. I really prefer a similar approach when localizing in English. Swear words can, used VERY sparingly, help to convey the intensity of dramatic moments, but most Japanese characters - particularly the cute high school girls on which anime and manga is usually focused - do not nearly approach the level of potty-mouth with which English localizers often saddle them. Chris' speech style in Japanese is brash and casual, but not even close to being as filthy as suggested here.
Sorry for the criticism. Please take it as it was meant, me going off irrationally about a pet peeve merely my own thoughts on the script choices made. Rest assured that, as this helpful image shows, this is a common point of contention in anime and manga translation:
http://i.imgur.com/4RFMQPE.jpg
Though you may salvage your dignity with the knowledge that at least you are not 4Kids.
last edited at Mar 12, 2016 3:19PM
