J-En Translations - Jenn & Wesley O'Donnell - Japanese-English Game and Media Translators

Leo McDonagh – Manga and Game Translator – Interviews With Localizers

– Discussions with people in the Japanese media localization industry – Leo McDonagh Can you tell us about yourself? My name is Leo and I’m a queer trans guy from the UK living in Tokyo. I’ve loved languages and

John Neal – Manga and Game Translator – Interviews With Localizers

– Discussions with people in the Japanese media localization industry – John Neal Can you tell us about yourself? I’m John! I’m a freelance translator for both manga and video games, and I do a bit of editing for

My Five Do’s and Don’ts of Game Translation

I attend a small coffee group of local translators and this month’s topic of conversation was “your five do’s and don’ts of localization.” Of course I had too many, so I decided to focus on specifically game translation. Do… Read,

Carrick Lomas – Video Game Translator – Interviews With Localizers

– Discussions with people in the Japanese media localization industry – Carrick Lomas Can you tell us about yourself? I can indeed! My name’s Carrick, and I’ve been working (with varying degrees of intensity) in localisation since 2015. I’m

Japanese to English Translation Competitions 2026

2025 was…yeah… But at least 2026 looks it’s going to be better. Right? …right? Sadly the rampant generated slop is encroaching more and more on translation. It’s not only stealing people’s work (for training and in terms of jobs), it’s

Kevin Yuan – Manga and Light Novel Translator – Interviews With Localizers

– Discussions with people in the Japanese media localization industry – Kevin Yuan Can you tell us about yourself? Hi there! My name is Kevin Yuan, and I’m a Tokyo-based Japanese-to-English translator working in-house in government (since 2023) and

Interviews With Localizers is BACK!

Between February 2019 and April 2022 I conducted 32 Interviews With Localizers, casual interviews with people in the Japanese-English media translation industry. I stopped for a few years as work got busy (and I did a podcast instead), but now

Media Translation Link Roundup [2025]

I regularly collect articles that interest me and then throw them together in a translation link roundup when I have enough. I wrote a link roundup last year, which have some great articles. Highly recommend checking that out. I feel

How to Take Feedback in the Translation Industry

Feedback is incredibly important in the translation industry. It helps people improve their skills and increase the overall quality of their work. Giving feedback should be more common than it currently is but how you receive the feedback is just

How to Give Feedback in the Translation Industry

Feedback is incredibly important in the translation industry. It helps people improve their skills and brings up the overall quality of work. Whether you’re a translator, editor, proofreader, or project manager, if you work in the translation industry you’ll have

Japanese to English Translation Competitions 2025

How is it 2025 already?! As we roll into another year I try to hunt down another round of Japanese to English translation competitions. There aren’t many new ones (I only found one…) but you still have a few options

My Favourite (and Least Favourite) Books of 2024

As I mentioned in my last post How I Read Over 50 Books in 2024 I read 56 books in 2024. A feat that was not easy to achieve. I had to slowly build the habit and learn about my

How I Read Over 50 Books in 2024

I read 56 books* in 2024! This was a mixture of fantasy, sci-fi, romance, literary fiction, and non-fiction books. Ranging from 115 pages to the longest at 845. Half of these were in Japanese and half were in English. (*Not

Why Do Video Game Subtitles Suck?

Subtitles are lines of text on a screen that depict what is being said. These are incredibly useful for allowing a lot of people to better engage with media. Subtitles aren’t just for people who are hard of hearing, they’re

Balancing Japanese-English Translation

I recently mused about the career path of an aspiring entertainment translator and the tendency to move from direct word-for-word translation to a creative translation before settling somewhere in the middle. Gauging this “somewhere in the middle” can be tricky

The Common Career Path of Media Translators

I was chatting about how to get good at game translation with an aspiring translator the other day when I noticed there is a common pattern in how successful translators approach their work throughout their careers. Beginner translators stick incredibly

How to Establish Work Life Balance as a Freelance Translator

There were times when I was a freelance translator when (I think) I had a healthy work/life balance. And there were times when I definitely did not. It’s never static, especially when, as freelancers, we have the issue of feast

How to Write Effective Translation Comments

Translation comments are incredibly useful. Not just for you, the person writing them, but also for everyone else who’s working with you. Why We Write Translation Comments Comments are your best tool to explain why you chose to translate

My Dream Translation Course

When I’m in my 50s and game localization is too much for me, I want to become a lecturer in translation studies. I would love to create a post-graduate equivalent translation course that teaches aspiring translators effective and useful translation

Financing for Freelance Translators

Lots of people want to be freelance translators, but they often don’t consider the business side of things—specifically the finance. This article will go over some things you need to consider when setting yourself up as a freelance translator, including

Top Tips for Language Students Interested in Translation

If you’re studying a language (whether that’s in school or on your own) you might be thinking about a career in translation. Whatever the language and whatever field you’re interested in, there are a few things you can do to

Gained in Translation

I hate the phrase “lost in translation.” Not only because it’s a terrible, terrible movie, but because it’s a phrase that perpetrates the myth that translation is inherently evil or wrong. When people use the phrase “lost in translation”

Best Practices for Localization Project Managers

A project manager can make or break a project, but a project is more than just the sum of its parts, it’s reliant on everyone working on the project. Great managers make a team (and therefore a project) thrive, while

Japanese to English Translation Competitions 2024

Another year another list of translation competitions for Japanese to English translators! This list comprises of the competitions I could find split into two categories: ones that provide the materials for you to translate, and ones that expect you to

Finding Your Translation Specialization

Often times, when getting into translation, you’re told to “specialize.” But what does that mean? How do you “specialize”? Does that mean you need another degree? How do you develop the skills for a specialization? Will it help you get

Interesting Localization Articles from the Last Year [2024]

I used to do link roundups, where I shared interesting articles I’d come across. These were very infrequent and I eventually dropped them altogether. But that doesn’t mean I stopped reading cool stuff related to the localization industry. I figured

My Favourite Books of 2023

I love reading. Every year my goal is to read at least 24 books, but my secret (real) goal is 48. (That way I have an achievable goal I can feel good about completing even if I don’t hit my

Everything You Need to Know About Mentoring for Translators

There is a distinct lack of education and support for aspiring entertainment translators. Most translation related degrees and university courses cater towards more lucrative fields or offer very generalized courses to appeal to as wide a variety of prospective students

Writing Tools for Translators – Book Review

Writing Tools: 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark If there’s one book all translators working with English should read, it’s Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark. Most translators are not taught how to write and

Translation is a Spectrum

Translation is a spectrum. That’s it. That’s the article. Okay, let me explain in more detail why translation is a spectrum, why translators use all parts of the spectrum within a single translation project, and why it’s important. The

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