I've translated a comic into N4+ Japanese and would like some feedback

Japanese
#1

Hi

I’ve been working with a comic artist on translating his work into N4+ Japanese to provide comprehensible input to learners and to show that turning an already existing work into a language learning tool is an easy way to do so.

Before sharing our work more widely I’d be keen to get some feedback. For now our work is hosted on pixiv (it’s totally safe for work). The story follows two characters in a post apocalytic world.

It comes with a Kanji guide which is only 90% finished here .

Here is the first page

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I hope you enjoy it !

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#2

Wow no replies? This is really great. I guess I’m early N4 and it’s fantastic. The art and story are solid (actually I love both) and the Japanese is accessible but a bit challenging for me without furigana. However the GUIDE makes it perfect for me. Thank you so much. If you were to post this on Reddit in Learn Japanese you would get a ton of responses…

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#3

The only things that gave me pause were the part where the guy says 「それに俺たちはまだ生きてる」which felt like a bit of a non sequitur and I had to check the English to see what was intended originally, and the rooftop being described using 頂上 which confused me for a second because I wasn’t sure where they were referring to.

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#4

Thanks both :slight_smile:

@hakulus : thanks a lot for the kind word. It’s actually been more work than expected for me and the creator so a comment like this is definitely what we needed to read :-). If the level is appropriate for you you might want to check my other work.

Good to know that the guide helped you. I’m working on a much ore detailed version that explains every vocab and grammar point.

The reason I’m not posting on reddit yet is because this is not the final version. The final version will be published on Tapas.io where the creator has his main work published. My goal is to show that translating exisiting work while simplifying the language is an easy way to help both learners by creating comprehensible input and creators because that allows them to target a new audience craving for comprehensible input. Most creators struggle to get subscribers.

@EbonyMidget : thanks for the feedback. I’ll think about it but it’s unlikely we’re going to change it now.

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#5

I just check the speech bubble. Could it be possible the confusion comes from まだ having different meaning ? It’s usually used to mean ‘still’ but in this instance it’s used to mean ‘at least’ which is a less frequent meaning.

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#6

Probably. I don’t particularly remember having seen it be translated as “at least” without something like まし or 少なくとも being used with it, but if no one else had any reaction to it then it’s probably just some blind spot of mine. Sorry if I caused any needless concern.

1 Like
#7

Dont be sorry this is actually very valuable!

I pay a professional proofreader and I 100% trust her on making the Japanese correct and making it sound natural. That does not mean it’s not good to question it from time to time :slight_smile: .

1 Like
#8

Hi all

Just a quick update regarding this project. It’s been released on tapas where the next chapters will be published as well if we get some traction !

https://tapas.io/series/AinoloniA-Return-to-Parascythe-Japanese/info

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