Dark Horse Releases

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
TheSkyTraveller said:
Didn't they extend the canvas on some of the others, too? I remember #9 not having the white border the original does.
Yep. they're all extended for the DH releases. It's just that vol 14's tiny DS handle is more obvious than the others. :guts:
Also, I have a question. Since when did it become the "Invocation of Doom?" I thought they were calling it the "Occultation of Doom" in the earlier volumes? Maybe I'm just crazy. :???:
It's been the "Invocation of Doom" in DH releases as early as volume 3. A more likely translation would be "Sacrificial Ceremony."
 
It's a little strange that they cover up Casca's breasts on the cover to volume 13, but they seem to have no problem with Rochine's pre-teen boobies on the cover of volume 11.

Let me tell you, I'll peel that sticker off of Casca so fast.
 

IsolatioN

Last Soldier Standing
Well atleast it's just a sticker so I'm not really angry about it. If they had printed it into the cover, though, then I'd get a bit mad. No harm from a simple sticker. :troll:
 

TheSkyTraveller

Monster adventures on the high seas!
Walter said:
It's been the "Invocation of Doom" in DH releases as early as volume 3. A more likely translation would be "Sacrificial Ceremony."

You're right, I'm just crazy. :judo: I must have combined using "Occultation" here with their translation.

It's a more appropriate question for the translations section of the board, but what is the deal with the "OF DOOM!!!" part anyway? It seems cheesy and superfluous, and nothing like the translations discussed here. Is there any connotation in Japanese that would lead to them translating it like that?
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Jaze1618 said:
Still no volume 12 in seattle Washington. I'm told it should be here on wednesday.

Amazon.com doesn't have it in stock yet either. I guess it's a global delay.

TheSkyTraveller said:
what is the deal with the "OF DOOM!!!" part anyway? It seems cheesy and superfluous, and nothing like the translations discussed here. Is there any connotation in Japanese that would lead to them translating it like that?

Its meaning literally is "Ceremony of Calling Down Evil," which can also be translated as "Ceremony of Calling Evil" or "Ceremony of Invoking Evil." There's the word ceremony in it which isn't in Dark Horse's translation for some reason, and the kanji used for evil is "魔" and just means evil, devil, demon, etc but not "doom." So to answer your question, there's no connotation in Japanese that could lead someone to translate it like that.
 

SMZKAH

I shall find the crystal of peace
Same problem here, my local comic store just said it should be in sometime this week, so I'll just call every day until it comes in. It's no big deal though, patience is a good thing for a Berserk fan. :guts:
 
SMZKAH said:
Same problem here, my local comic store just said it should be in sometime this week, so I'll just call every day until it comes in. It's no big deal though, patience is a good thing for a Berserk fan. :guts:

Yeah, considering the fact that the fans back in Japan have to wait at least half a year before the new volume comes out. At the pace of one volume of Berserk per three months in U.S, we're damn sure lucky.
 

CnC

Ad Oculos
BayJumper said:
At the pace of one volume of Berserk per three months in U.S, we're damn sure lucky.

bi-monthly, supposedly.



EDIT from Walter: Read the previous page guys...
 

Franz

It's a dolphin.
Works for me, considering I only BUY the stuff once a year at AX and catch up at 5 volumes at once.
 

handsome rakshas

Thanks Grail!
Well, after weeks of bitching volume 12 is finally in my hands!
I have to head out of town right now so I'll update this post later with impressions of the new volume. Everyone go out and pick it up now!

Edit: I know its old news but the SFX are translated. I find that it detracts from my reading experience. For example, the dream sequence where Casca is feeding Griffith. In the panel with the little Beherit floating in the spoon in the panel on the left it says in a small box. *FX: PUKA. I find it very annoying but I like knowing what the SFX are. I would have rather had a index at the back of the book rather than have  the translations right on the page but oh well. Its Berserk, so I'll love anything I can get my hands on.

Also what was disappointing was this little tidbit.

"Created by Kentarou Miura, Berserk is a churning manga mosh-pit, a take-no-prisoners epic of white-knuckle action, cold-blooded horror, and black-hearted humor that has inspired legions of fanatical acolytes to spread terror and chaos across the land. Run for your lives!"

Not even nearly cheesy enough! Although I do like "churning manga mosh-pit".

Edit 2: The scene where Corkus is talking about how Griffith's return should have gave new life to the Hawks brought tears to my eyes. The expression on Pippin's face made me terribly sad. Its been a long time since I read this volume and its like I'm reading it for the first time.
 

SMZKAH

I shall find the crystal of peace
handsome rakshas said:
Well, after weeks of bitching volume 12 is finally in my hands!
I have to head out of town right now so I'll update this post later with impressions of the new volume. Everyone go out and pick it up now!

Wow, how'd you get your hands on it? I was just informed yesterday that my primary comic dealer is no longer selling berserk, and Borders said it was delayed for a few weeks. Now I'm angry... So much for patience
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
handsome rakshas said:
Well, after weeks of bitching volume 12 is finally in my hands!
I have to head out of town right now so I'll update this post later with impressions of the new volume. Everyone go out and pick it up now!
Damn you, Amazon. I ordered vol 12 July 10th from them and it hasn't even shipped out yet. I probably won't get it until at the very least next week... Good to know it's at least being distributed now though.

Wow, so the sound effects actually are translated? Yuck... :puck: Well, it seems I misjudged Dark Horse this time. We should let Chris Warner know our opinions on the matter. I really do like the idea of an appendix in the back of each volume with the translations of the sound effects. And it doesn't sound that infeasible to me. If anything it's less work for DH.

handsome rakshas said:
Edit 2: The scene where Corkus is talking about how Griffith's return should have gave new life to the Hawks brought tears to my eyes. The expression on Pippin's face made me terribly sad. Its been a long time since I read this volume and its like I'm reading it for the first time.
Vol 13's the real tearjerker for me: the aftermath of the eclipse :judo:

SMZKAH said:
I was just informed yesterday that my primary comic dealer is no longer selling berserk
Yeeowch. That sucks dude, and right when the climax of this arc is coming with volumes 12-13. I'd complain to them, and at least get them to special order it for you in the future.
 

handsome rakshas

Thanks Grail!
Walter said:
Vol 13's the real tearjerker, for me: the aftermath of the eclipse :judo:

Oh shit, Volume 13 does come after Volume 12 doesn't it?  :schierke:
When Volume 13 gets released if I don't log on for a while it means that I had myself admitted. That one is going to be hell. But seriously, I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness at the beginning of Volume 12 for The Hawks. Felt like the end of a dynasty. I am going to be a man and admit that I actually did cry. Oops, now I feel embarrassed.  :judo:
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
Walter said:
I really do like the idea of an appendix in the back of each volume with the translations of the sound effects.  And it doesn't sound that infeasible to me.  If anything it's less work for DH.

The "Special Editions" of the Evangelion manga (the Japanese versions with the sound effects left intact) had an index at the back with translations for all of 'em, so I don't think it'd be that hard to include. And you're right, it would be less work for DH in the end. Maybe if enough complaints come in they'll re-release Vol. 12 with the sound-effects translations removed. One can only hope.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Rhombaad said:
Maybe if enough complaints come in they'll re-release Vol. 12 with the sound-effects translations removed. One can only hope.
Yeah, it's a change that could easily be made for reprintings (and every Berserk volume thus far has been reprinted).
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
handsome rakshas said:
In the panel with the little Beherit floating in the spoon in the panel on the left it says in a small box. *FX: PUKA.

Haha, but then they're not even translated, it's just a transliteration of the sound... If it's the same for everything then IMHO, it's useless. They should translate the sounds, i.e. put them in English or use an onomatopoeia an English speaker can recognize. In the end I think an appendix would be much better, and less of a bother for Dark Horse overall. They could fit everything on one page at the end, with the page the sound effect appears on, how it's written in Japanese, a transliteration of the sound, and a translation of what it means. That probably wouldn't be too hard for the translator to do, the editors wouldn't have to bother themselves editing boxes on the art, and the fans would be happy.

Here's a quick example:

Appendix said:
...
Page XXX
Page 42: メキメキ - Meki Meki - The sound of something cracking/breaking (as in being smashed to bits)
Page XXX
...

Of course that's just a way to do it among many others, a simple suggestion.

handsome rakshas said:
"Created by Kentarou Miura, Berserk is a churning manga mosh-pit, a take-no-prisoners epic of white-knuckle action, cold-blooded horror, and black-hearted humor that has inspired legions of fanatical acolytes to spread terror and chaos across the land. Run for your lives!"

These need to go, seriously... It's grotesquely funny at first, but then you remember it's actually written on your favorite manga, and it becomes very sad.

handsome rakshas said:
The scene where Corkus is talking about how Griffith's return should have gave new life to the Hawks brought tears to my eyes. The expression on Pippin's face made me terribly sad. Its been a long time since I read this volume and its like I'm reading it for the first time.

I also find this scene very emotional. Corcas breaking his sword is extremely symbolic to me. But that kind of discussion should go in the Dark Horse releases: Discussion Thread. :guts:
 

CnC

Ad Oculos
Aazealh said:
That probably wouldn't be too hard for the translator to do, the editors wouldn't have to bother themselves editing boxes on the art, and the fans would be happy.

No kidding. They've lost me on this one. I ain't buyin' a book with these boxes on the artwork. Lets hope they reprint them without the sfx, otherwise it looks like I'll just stick to the japanese versions.

Aazealh said:
These need to go, seriously... It's grotesquely funny at first, but then you remember it's actually written on your favorite manga, and it becomes very sad.

grotesquely juvenile, as well. Not a hint of class in the entire lineup. Its a shame if their target demographic is prepubescent teenagers.
 

TheSkyTraveller

Monster adventures on the high seas!
handsome rakshas said:
Edit: I know its old news but the SFX are translated.

Damn!  I was just gearing up to buy the last ones I missed, too, since I was happy the quality had improved.  Now I'm not so sure... :judo:
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
TheSkyTraveller said:
Damn! I was just gearing up to buy the last ones I missed, too, since I was happy the quality had improved. Now I'm not so sure... :judo:
Well, it's just volume 12 that has the sound effects transliterated. The previous ones don't have anything of the sort ... Which really makes 12 kind of... weird. I mean, why now, DH? WHYYYYY?! :judo:
 

TheSkyTraveller

Monster adventures on the high seas!
Walter said:
Well, it's just volume 12 that has the sound effects transliterated.  The previous ones don't have anything of the sort ... Which really makes 12 kind of... weird. I mean, why now, DH? WHYYYYY?!  :judo:

Maybe they got a lot of mail asking for translated sound effects?  Maybe we need to begin a strategic letter-writing counterattack!
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
BayJumper said:
And believe me, it's partly Kentarou Miura's fault.

I don't think you worded that correctly, sorry to be picky. It can't be said to be his "fault" if he uses page space more effectively and makes the panel placement more dynamic than what you can find in common works.

BayJumper said:
In my opinion, the best approach would be to include the English translated captions within the "gutters", that're there already [...] And for those SFX that're on the pages without the "gutters" (and boy, are there many of those), have them translated on the glossary included in the back of the book. So you're getting the best of the both worlds here.

That'd be awkward and more work for Dark Horse without being much of an improvement, IMHO. If anything, having SFX in spaces between panels can also be distracting and would sometimes be inconvenient, not to mention the editors having to choose when to do it and when not to and the readers having to check the Appendix half the time, etc. It'd just be a bother, really (and probably confusing). I think if they had to change the way they're doing the SFX they'd need to choose one method and stick to it. In this case, everybody seems to be agreeing that an Appendix would be the best way, so there's no need to try to make things more complicated.
 
Well, with the translated English SFX captions placed in the "gutters", you can see them on the fly, as you're reading.
But yes, the Appendix is probably the best choice whan it comes to translating the sound-effects from Japanese to English. After all, if DH expects us to pay $14 for each Berserk volume, it'd be really great of them to do so.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
Well I've decided to hold off on purchasing Vol. 12 (and any other volume in the future, for that matter, that translates the sound effects by obstructing Miura's artwork, however minor the obstruction might be). :miura:
 
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