Machine Translating Manga - Amimaru/Kodansha/Manga Plus - Blu-ray Forum

InuYashaCrusade · 01-12-2022, 02:57 AM

Machine translating manga received a lot of attention last month after ANN reported the following:

Manga Localization Company Amimaru Allegedly Trials Machine Translation For Commercial Manga Releases

"An anonymous translator has told ANN that the manga translation and lettering company Amimaru has been trialing edited machine translations for commercial manga releases, calling it an "an excuse to pay translators less than they already do and mechanize the art of translation."

ANN has received documents which indicate the existence of a machine translation project at Amimaru. One of the clients was identified by an internal codename referring to Kodansha Comics.

Kodansha Comics has denied investing in machine translation: "Kodansha USA believes translators are vital members of the manga community. We remain committed to healthy working relationships with translators and are actively taking steps to build closer ties with them. For these reasons and more, Kodansha USA does not currently employ machine translation for any of the manga and books that we distribute – nor are there any plans for this to change."

Manga Plus has joined in with the following:

"Momiyama said in the interview that translation costs are currently very high. He said that the quality of machine translation is still very low, but that "in 10 years it should improve," adding that "if we can produce high-quality translations in many different languages, it will be a game-changer all over again."

Sources:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/int...manga-/.180576

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/int...-house/.181396

BigOnAnime · 01-12-2022, 03:17 AM

Machine translation is probably never going to be that good. One of the things machine translation greatly struggles with Japanese to English is the fact it struggles to get the context. With Japanese, you basically say more with less. Not to mention the grammar structure is entirely different.

Heck, when I use the "Translate Tweet" feature on Twitter powered by Google Translate, it always translates "san" to "Mr.", even when the person was talking about a female character.

It's depressing how so many companies desperately want to replace translators with machines to save money. Said translators tend to be underpaid much of the time to begin with despite how important they are.

BigOnAnime · 01-12-2022, 09:18 PM

Looks like Kadokawa has joined in... If you wanted to read the light novels for Higehiro, you're in for an awful experience.
https://animeuknews.net/2022/01/kado...g-translation/

papagirton · 08-22-2023, 10:35 PM

I've always felt that the nuances and emotions conveyed in manga are so unique and sometimes subtle, so I'm curious to see how machine translations handle that. I understand the concerns about it being an avenue for companies to cut costs, but if done right, it might bring more manga to international fans faster.

Anyway, what these machines do nowadays with the help of AI and automation is crazy! For example, nowadays, machine translation has reached new levels because there exists automated legal translation that is very accurate. I've used their services once, and they really nailed it. The speed at which it was done was the highlight for me.

BigOnAnime · 08-24-2023, 03:33 AM

A really bad translation is worse than no translation at all. I'd rather have less manga brought over than more due to machine translation that can get things wrong with a very context-heavy language where you say more with less. Google Translate also keeps translating "san" as "Mr." even if it's about a woman and should be "Ms." or "Mrs."

I'll leave this here for no reason at all...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew 'Steiner' Hodgson

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anime UK News

The English Kadokawa release of Higehiro is here, but unfortunately quality of translation leaves plenty to be desired for this flagship release.
https://animeuknews.net/2022/01/kado...g-translation/

https://twitter.com/animeuknews/stat...38745570795520

Kadokawa actively trying to sound out how low they can bring the bar before people stop buying. It's just a shame authors and their stories will have to pay the price during the experiment.

https://twitter.com/DistantValhalla/...81131286396931

Darkex · 08-28-2023, 07:04 PM

Thanks god that I learnt japanese and can now read my manga in japanese.

The problem with machine translation is that if the machine doesn't understand a sentence it just makes things up.

01-12-2022, 02:57 AM	#1
InuYashaCrusade Blu-ray Prince Member since:Jun 2013 Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Trading Score:17	Machine Translating Manga - Amimaru/Kodansha/Manga Plus Machine translating manga received a lot of attention last month after ANN reported the following: Manga Localization Company Amimaru Allegedly Trials Machine Translation For Commercial Manga Releases "An anonymous translator has told ANN that the manga translation and lettering company Amimaru has been trialing edited machine translations for commercial manga releases, calling it an "an excuse to pay translators less than they already do and mechanize the art of translation." ANN has received documents which indicate the existence of a machine translation project at Amimaru. One of the clients was identified by an internal codename referring to Kodansha Comics. Kodansha Comics has denied investing in machine translation: "Kodansha USA believes translators are vital members of the manga community. We remain committed to healthy working relationships with translators and are actively taking steps to build closer ties with them. For these reasons and more, Kodansha USA does not currently employ machine translation for any of the manga and books that we distribute – nor are there any plans for this to change." Manga Plus has joined in with the following: "Momiyama said in the interview that translation costs are currently very high. He said that the quality of machine translation is still very low, but that "in 10 years it should improve," adding that "if we can produce high-quality translations in many different languages, it will be a game-changer all over again." Sources: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/int...manga-/.180576 https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/int...-house/.181396

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01-12-2022, 03:17 AM	#2
BigOnAnime Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Mar 2015 Location:Minnesota, USA 4K collection:13 Blu-ray collection:577 DVD collection:667	Machine translation is probably never going to be that good. One of the things machine translation greatly struggles with Japanese to English is the fact it struggles to get the context. With Japanese, you basically say more with less. Not to mention the grammar structure is entirely different. Heck, when I use the "Translate Tweet" feature on Twitter powered by Google Translate, it always translates "san" to "Mr.", even when the person was talking about a female character. It's depressing how so many companies desperately want to replace translators with machines to save money. Said translators tend to be underpaid much of the time to begin with despite how important they are.

01-12-2022, 09:18 PM	#3
BigOnAnime Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Mar 2015 Location:Minnesota, USA 4K collection:13 Blu-ray collection:577 DVD collection:667	Looks like Kadokawa has joined in... If you wanted to read the light novels for Higehiro, you're in for an awful experience. https://animeuknews.net/2022/01/kado...g-translation/

08-22-2023, 10:35 PM	#4
papagirton Junior Member Member since:Sep 2020	I've always felt that the nuances and emotions conveyed in manga are so unique and sometimes subtle, so I'm curious to see how machine translations handle that. I understand the concerns about it being an avenue for companies to cut costs, but if done right, it might bring more manga to international fans faster. Anyway, what these machines do nowadays with the help of AI and automation is crazy! For example, nowadays, machine translation has reached new levels because there exists automated legal translation that is very accurate. I've used their services once, and they really nailed it. The speed at which it was done was the highlight for me.

08-28-2023, 07:04 PM	#6
Darkex Junior Member Top contributor Member since:Jul 2023 Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:-	Thanks god that I learnt japanese and can now read my manga in japanese. The problem with machine translation is that if the machine doesn't understand a sentence it just makes things up.

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