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 it’s time to bring this series back!
It’s 2025 and I’ll post one interview every month over the next six months until (at least) the end of the year.
What Do You Mean by “Localizers”?
In this context localizers refers to: translators, editors, writers, project managers, letterers, community managers, etc. ANYONE who works in the translation industry.
Japanese media is brought to the West by SO MANY different people. Although most of the interviews are with translators, I want to highlight a wide variety of people who help us all enjoy localized media.
What Do You Mean by “Japanese Media Localization Industry”?
This means Japanese anime, manga, video games, movies, novels, light novels, YouTube, music, etc.
Media localization is it’s own special field, requiring skills unique from legal, medical, or technical translation. Japanese media in particular has a wide variety of mediums which each require further specialized knowledge.
Such as subtitle translation, which is different from script translation for dubbing, which is different from novel translation, which is different from game translation, etc.
Why Only Japanese Media?
Because that’s the field I’m most experienced in and have the most connections in.
But that’s not to say it’ll only be localizers who work in the Japanese to English field. There might also be interviews with people who translate from Japanese into other languages, or who work with Japanese media but from the English translation of the Japanese.
Who Will Be Interviewed?
Hopefully people you won’t have heard about!
I like to highlight people (mostly freelance) who don’t normally get much appreciation for their work.
How Will the Interviews Be Laid Out?
Just like older articles, these will be in article format with similar questions asking people about their experience and work.
I hope these will be good snapshots into the lives of people who work in the Japanese-English media localization industry.
How Many Interviews Will There Be?
There should (hopefully) be at least one new interview a month from next month until the end of the year.
The series might continue into 2026 depending on who else I can find who wants to get involved and who has the time to answer all by questions.
Past Interviews With Localizers
Anne Lee – Game Translator and Editor
Daniel McCalla – Game Translator and Localizer
Kristi Fernandez – Novel/TV Translator
Kaylyn Wylie – Video Game Translator & Community Builder
Jan Mitsuko Cash – Novel and Manga Translator
Diana Taylor – Light Novel and Manga Translator
Nova Skipper – Otome Game Wordsmith
Molly Lee – Porny Otome Game Translator
Brandon Bovia – Manga Letterer
Meru – Localizer and Publisher
Michelle Deco – Video Game Editor and Writer
Jenny McKeon – Manga and Light Novel Translator
Liz Bushouse – Video Game Translator
Julie Goniwich – Technical and Creative Translator
Lucile Danilov – French Game Translator and Consultant
Molly Rabbitt – Translator and Educator
Sarah T. – Freelance Japanese-English Game Translator
Emily Balistrieri – Literary Translator
Stephen Meyerink – Game Translator & Writer
Maisy Hatchard – Board Game Translator
Sara Linsley – Manga Letterer and Software Developer
Katrina Leonoudakis – Engineer By Day, Translator By Night
Gavin Greene – Game Localization Producer
Andrew Echeverria – Video Game Translator
Brittany Avery – Veteran Game Localization Editor
Yuji Moriya – Game and Movie Localization Professional
Jasmine Bernhardt – Light Novels and Games Translator
Kevin Ishizaka – Light Novels and Lyrics
