J-En Translations

The Translation Process

The translation process is fundamental to translation but it’s often overlooked when people talk about translation. Everyone assumes everyone else knows it, so doesn’t feel the need to talk about it. As a result, the vast majority of translators have

There’s No Translator Shortage, Just a Shortage of Decent Companies

RWS, a massive LSP (language service provider) and the company that owns the CAT (computer aided translation) tool Trados, recently released a report stating that the number of experienced translators with 10+ years of experience has dropped by almost 10%

Dazzling Dialogue for Translators — Book Review

How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript by James Scott Bell How to Write Dazzling Dialogue is a book written for English writers looking to improve their novel/screen play/comic, etc. by improving the dialogue. But

Effective Self-Editing for Terrific Translations

Your translation is done! It’s finished! Time to send it off! BUT WAIT!!! Did you edit it? Edit? I’m a translator, not an editor, why would I need to edit my translation? Why indeed! In this article we’ll be going

Idol Burning – Translation Review

On the surface Idol Burning (推し、燃ゆ Oshi Moyu) by Rin Usami and translated into English by Asa Yoneda, is a story about a young girl obsessed with an idol from a boy group, but underneath it’s an look at mental

Japanese – English Translation Competitions 2023

A list of translation competitions for Japanese to English translators in 2023. I’ve also posted a list of articles at the bottom which should help! Japanese – English Translation Competitions 2023 Materials Provided I’ve been keeping an eye on

Translation Chat 20 – Janet Hsu chats about Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (999)

Janet Hsu is a localization director that has worked in the video game industry for almost two decades. Janet chats about the English localization of the Nintendo DS Game Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors by director Kotaro Uchikoshi

Translated Books I Read in 2022

One of my goals this year was to read more translated books, so in April I decided to start a reading challenge. Each month had a different theme which acts as a reading prompt to help select books. I only

Translation Chat 19 – Wesley O’Donnell chats about Paper Mario and the Origami King

Wesley O’Donnell is a freelance Japanese to English translator living in Japan. He’s worked on a variety of manga and light novels with penchant towards fantasy and comedy. Wesley chats about the amazing characterization and comedy in the English

Becoming a Translator—There Is No Magic Button

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

Translation Chat 18 – Taylor Drew chats about Tokyo Ueno Station

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

Translation Chat 17 – Erica Friedman chats about Whisper Me a Love Song

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

What is the Japan Visualmedia Translation Academy (JVTA)?

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

Translation Chat 16 – Stephen Meyerink chats about Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions

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

Translation Chat 15 – Alexander O. Smith chats about All You Need Is Kill

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

Translation Chat 14 – Keith Spencer chats about The Emissary

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

Translation Chat 13 – Mercedez Clewis chats about Super Cub

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

What Skills Do I Need to be A Game Translator? (Part 2: Soft Skills)

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

Translation Chat 12 – Kaylyn Wylie chats about Monster Hunter World

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

Translation Chat 11 – Christina Rose chats about Final Fantasy XIV

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

The Hustle and The Guilt

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

What Skills Do I Need to be A Game Translator? (Part 1: Translation Skills)

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

Translating Character Voice

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

Persistent Pitfalls in Media Translation and How to Avoid Them

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

Kevin Ishizaka – Light Novels and Lyrics – Interviews With Localizers

– 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

The 2022 Translated Literature Challenge

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

Japanese – English Translation Competitions 2022

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