From talking to aspiring translators lately it feels like many want to know what the magic button is to become a translator. But, there is no magic button. There’s no one way to gain experience. There’s no one company that
Taylor Drew is a translator, writer, and manga proofreader based in Tokyo. She writes book reviews for her personal blog A Basket of Words and also does interview translations for Febri. Passionate for all things written and everything to
Erica Friedman is the Founder of Yuricon and has run the world’s oldest and most comprehensive blog on Yuri, Okazu, since 2002. She has edited manga for JManga, Seven Seas and Udon Entertainment, most recently Riyoko Ikeda’s epic historical
There is a lack of comprehensive educational programs for Japanese to English translators. The vast majority of programs available are post-graduate degrees or evening classes for professionals. Which is all well and good if you already live in the city
Stephen Meyerink is a freelance Japanese to English translator, writer, and author who has worked on video games, books, albums, manga, and more. He is a massive fan of video game music (in terms of both a historical practice
Alexander O. Smith—who goes by Alex—is a translator, writer, and photographer living in Kamakura, Japan. As a translator, he’s worked on games like Final Fantasy 12, novels in the fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery genres, and manga. He’s written for
Keith Spencer is a visual artist and translator based in Kyoto. His artwork has been exhibited in the US, Japan, and Canada, while his translations have appeared in artist books, galleries, and numerous art-related online publications. Keith chose to
Mercedez (Meru) Clewis (they/their) is a Japanese to English translation and localization editor working primarily with light novels and visual novels, such as Idea Factory’s Cupid Parasite. They’re also a pop culture critic, anime and manga reviewer, and a
Video game translators don’t just need to be good at translating, they need to be good at communication, empathy, curiosity, and so much more to be able to have long-term successful careers. While part 1 of What Skills Do I
Kaylyn S. Wylie (she/they) is a Japanese to English media localization specialist working primarily with video games. You can see her work most recently in Ender Lilies and Artesnaut. If you’d like to catch what she’s up to, you
Christina Rose is a video game and manga translator who enjoys demystifying the J-E media translation industry and its practices for people new to the field or looking to break in. Final Fantasy XIV is a sci-fi/fantasy MMORPG that has
There’s a heavy cloud of guilt that comes with freelancing. An oppressive mist that hovers behind you throughout your day. The cloud doesn’t say anything but you can feel its eyes boring into the back of your skull. You need
From my experience, the skills every translator needs can be broken down into two categories: translation skills and soft skills. Which precise skills are ideal will vary depending on the field of translation, but this article is specifically focusing on
Character voice is not accents or dialects. Although accents might play a part, character voice is instead imagining how a character would say something in a natural way given the greater context of the setting. What words would the character
A guide to navigating the jungles of media translation. How to avoid direct translation traps, handle tricky false friends, squeeze text into tight spots and more in manga, anime, and games. This is the summary of a talk I did
– Discussions with people in the Japanese media localization industry – Kevin Ishizaka Can you tell us about yourself? Hello! I’m Kevin Ishizaka, a freelance Japanese-to-English translator based in Tokyo. I come from Washington, USA and have been in
I want to read more and a wider variety of translated literature and so I started the Translated Literature Reading Challenge! Whether anyone joins or not, I will try and read at least one translated book a month based on
A list of translation competitions for Japanese to English translators in 2022. I’ve also posted a list of articles at the bottom which should help! Japanese – English Translation Competitions 2022 Materials Provided I’ve been keeping an eye on Japanese to
Daniel McCalla is a Japanese to English video game translator and (occasional) editor. During his four years as a freelancer, he worked on titles such as Phantasy Star Online 2, Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, Dragon Quest XI S,
Gavin Greene is a freelance localization director, translator, and interpreter specializing in video games. In his ten years in the industry, he’s translated more games than he can count (he’s better at writing than math), many of them for
– Discussions with people in the Japanese media localization industry – Jasmine Bernhardt Can you tell us about yourself? Hiya! I’m Jasmine Bernhardt, an American Japanese to English translator living in the UK. I mostly translate light novels, video
Morgan Watchorn is a manga translator for Seven Seas Entertainment. Titles she’s worked on include Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire?, Desire Pandora, and Call to Adventure! Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board. She chose to talk about the English
Wesley Bishop is a localization director at video game developer and publisher Capcom. Wes grew up in Indiana in the USA. After earning his degree, he went on to work at the Japan-American Society of Indiana, an NPO dedicated to
Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher, also known as Rook, is a light novel and manga translator who’s worked on titles such as Torture Princess, The Eminence in Shadow, Spy Classroom, and High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even In Another World. Rook
What makes a good translation depends entirely on the type of text and medium. Technical translations should be fairly direct with wording, formatting, and style appropriate to the type of technical document. Marketing translations often involve complete transcreation, the wording
Andrew Echeverria is a Japanese-to-English media translator with a focus in games. He’s been in the industry for half a decade, in which time he has had the opportunity to work on manga, tourism, tech, and games such as
Liz Bushouse is a Japanese to English video game translator and has worked on titles such as Phantasy Star Online 2, STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town, and Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. She has a masters degree in
Katrina Leonoudakis is a professional translator and localization specialist. In addition to working full-time at SEGA as a project coordinator, she subtitles anime for Funimation and Sentai Filmworks, as well as translates manga for Seven Seas. She has credits on
– Discussions with people in the Japanese media localization industry – Yuji Moriya Can you tell us about yourself? Hi, I’m Yuji, and I’ve been in the Loc industry for about four years. I love music, play guitar, and
Anne Lee is a freelance Japanese to English translator and editor, with credits including Hitorijime My Hero volumes 1-3 and video games such as Giraffe and Annika, and Tokyo Afterschool Summoners. She also writes and podcasts about Japanese pop