Dark Horse Releases

I'm just happy they didn't go with some lame Knight of Skeleton type of translation. Would you have preferred "Flower Typhoon Emperor"? Or maybe you've got a better translation?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
BLG said:
I'm just happy they didn't go with some lame Knight of Skeleton type of translation. Would you have preferred "Flower Typhoon Emperor"? Or maybe you've got a better translation?
Flower Typhoon Emperor was obviously like a worst case scenario. But it's not my job to come up with good translations. That's what we're paying DH to do.

And I don't think it sets a good precedent to be pleased with mediocrity or laziness, just because they didn't completely fuck it up. That's like a form of Stockholm Syndrome.
 
Walter said:
Flower Typhoon Emperor was obviously like a worst case scenario. But it's not my job to come up with good translations. That's what we're paying DH to do.

I'm just saying that it seems stupid to complain, since there probably isn't any translation that would make you purists 100% happy.

EDIT: And do we actually have any proof that the king's proper name isn't Hanafubuku?
 

Th3Branded0ne

I'll be back.
BLG said:
I'm just saying that it seems stupid to complain, since there probably isn't any translation that would make you purists 100% happy.

No translation is 100% all the way. But I don't think it's stupid to complain for a product you have paid for, to have at least some kind of effort to put into it.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
BLG said:
I'm just happy they didn't go with some lame Knight of Skeleton type of translation. Would you have preferred "Flower Typhoon Emperor"? Or maybe you've got a better translation?

Yes, we do have a better one as a matter of fact (see the corresponding episode thread). Because we actually use a translation, whereas DH doesn't. And for your information, "Flower Typhoon Emperor" was Walter's deliberate try to emulate a bad translation.

BLG said:
I'm just saying that it seems stupid to complain, since there probably isn't any translation that would make you purists 100% happy.

What's stupid is to talk about something when you're absolutely unqualified to do so (talking about you here).

BLG said:
EDIT: And do we actually have any proof that the king's proper name isn't Hanafubuku?

See above.
 
Aaz it would be helpful if you included more information and less rudeness in your posts.

Anyway, I still think some people will never be content with any translations. This thread is full of complaints about pretty trivial things and every time a new DH volume is published more of them come in. Relax! It's just a manga!

Overall the DH releases are damn wonderful and I'm extremely happy they picked it up instead of some other company. 99% of readers (the not-so-hardcore fans) probably couldn't care less about the nitpicking going on here, and thanks to DH they can have a 99% authentic Berserk experience, which should be enough for anyone except the angriest purists here.

Of course if you really don't like the DH releases, you don't have to buy them. Just remember that for every DH release you don't buy, I'll buy two! :rakshas:
 

Th3Branded0ne

I'll be back.
BLG said:
Anyway, I still think some people will never be content with any translations. This thread is full of complaints about pretty trivial things and every time a new DH volume is published more of them come in. Relax! It's just a manga!

It's not about being just satisfied with any translation, at least try to translate it, which is what their work is for. You know t-r-a-n-s-l-a-t-o-r Complaints are made when something doesn't seem right or fit in my opinion. I don't think this something trivial. I wouldn't like it if someone was translating my work and not paying close attention to my work. It may be a manga, but from all the work and effort Miura puts into it, I would like it to be as good as the japanese one.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
BLG said:
Aaz it would be helpful if you included more information and less rudeness in your posts.
Actually, you're the lone conductor on the rudeness train so far in this thread. I said that DH had copped out on the Hanafubuku translation, and your simple retort was that we're just purists. Thanks. And anyway, if by that you mean we're so insane that we'd prefer Berserk's details to actually be translated instead of skipped over, then sure, label us purists if you'd like.

Anyway, I still think some people will never be content with any translations. This thread is full of complaints about pretty trivial things and every time a new DH volume is published more of them come in. Relax! It's just a manga!
So, the details on the name of a being likely to be extremely important in the future being ignored is "pretty trivial"? I guess you'd just rather not know it? That's a better solution? Also , sure it's "just" a manga, but it's one that we all here care about very deeply and want it to get the best treatment possible. Dark Horse has fallen off the respect wagon several times in the past -- the blurbs on the back of the books aside. For newcomers to the series, I'm sure Dark Horse appears to be doing amazing things, but for those of us that have been reading translations of Berserk for more than 9 years, mistakes are hard to miss.

Overall the DH releases are damn wonderful and I'm extremely happy they picked it up instead of some other company. 99% of readers (the not-so-hardcore fans) probably couldn't care less about the nitpicking going on here, and thanks to DH they can have a 99% authentic Berserk experience, which should be enough for anyone except the angriest purists here.
I think your statistics here are 99% bullshit. And I don't really know why you're referring to us as angry. We'd just like it done properly, with as little "grooviness" as possible.

Of course if you really don't like the DH releases, you don't have to buy them. Just remember that for every DH release you don't buy, I'll buy two! :rakshas:
I stopped buying them until they got their act together with the Sound Effects dillema. But now they've sorted it out to an acceptable degree, and I'm happily back on the wagon. Still, as a paying customer I don't see why I should be berated as a purist for questioning their decisions, when I know of solutions myself. Seems counter intuitive, unless you're a DH zealot =).
 
I don't know if I can really achieve anything by replying here. But I'll do it anyway. (Ain't that crazy!)

I enjoy berserk immensely like everyone here and would like to see the English edition done in a huge format on pristine clear paper with gilded covers (okay, maybe not those...). A 100-man translating group that comes to skullknight.net every day to ask for the best translations would be great too. But I try to be realistic, and realistically DH has done a good job.

Translation problems with names etc. are annoying, but they hardly ruin the manga. Even if Guts' was translated as "John" it wouldn't ruin the story. I understand that is an extreme example, but still.

People who have read Berserk translations for a long time of course have their own perfect version of the series somewhere deep in their minds and get easily irritated about mistakes. However, what I meant by a 99% authentic Berserk experience is that for people new to the series, the DH releases offer a good English version that I think successfully conveys that special Berserk feeling. That is what I think is most important.

Also, I apologize for sounding rude.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
BLG said:
I don't know if I can really achieve anything by replying here. But I'll do it anyway. (Ain't that crazy!)
I'm not sure you'd convince a three-year-old of the justice of your argument, which is apparently that mistakes and omissions are OK to make because people that don't know they exist will never know they're missing.
 
Walter said:
I'm not sure you'd convince a three-year-old of the justice of your argument, which is apparently that mistakes and omissions are OK to make because people that don't know they exist will never know they're missing.

I'm not saying it's OK, just that it's not as serious as you seem to think it is.
 
BLG-
Do you work for Dark Horse during the day responding to fan/hate mail?

It's possible I've projected this on you, but I sense some residual bitterness.

EDIT: minus your reply right before this one
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
BLG said:
I'm not saying it's OK, just that it's not as serious as you seem to think it is.
Wow, I think you're fabricating the problems here. Did I say their errors were so serious that they've stopped me from buying the product? Did I say these errors were the end of the world? No, you simply read that into me at some point. I said it was a cop out for them not to translate Hanafubuku. ... Is it not?

Are we really back to square one here?  :schierke:
 
Jaze1618 said:
BLG-
Do you work for Dark Horse during the day responding to fan/hate mail?

It's possible I've projected this on you, but I sense some residual bitterness.

I just like Dark Horse, they translate many wonderful series and their translations are usually top-notch. I guess I got a bit aggravated because I wanted to put things into perspective here. DH is one of the best translating companies around and it was irritating to see so many complaints, since there would probably be even more had Berserk been picked up by some other company.

Walter said:
Wow, I think you're fabricating the problems here. Did I say their errors were so serious that they've stopped me from buying the product? Did I say these errors were the end of the world? No, you simply read that into me at some point. I said it was a cop out for them not to translate Hanafubuku. ... Is it not?

Are we really back to square one here? :schierke:

You think they copped out by not translating Hanafubuku and I think they made a good conscious decision by not trying to translate something pretty much untranslateable.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. :serpico:
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
BLG said:
I just like Dark Horse, they translate many wonderful series and their translations are usually top-notch. I guess I got a bit aggravated because I wanted to put things into perspective here. DH is one of the best translating companies around and it was irritating to see so many complaints, since there would probably be even more had Berserk been picked up by some other company.
I wouldn't be so quick to sing the praises of Dark Horse.  They actually don't even do their own translation work for Berserk. They farm it out to "Digital Manga." DH just publishes it. I guess it's just not important enough to them  :void:

Have you read anything Viz has done under their Editor's Choice line? It's better than Dark Horses', Vagabond's translator is on staff, and has even met with the creator. Had DH not picked up Berserk immediately, I have a strong feeling Viz would have. They're the dominant force in the US manga translation industry, and have far more capital and talent than DH have.
 
Walter said:
I wouldn't be so quick to sing the praises of Dark Horse. They actually don't even do their own translation work for Berserk. They farm it out to "Digital Manga." DH just publishes it. I guess it's just not important enough to them :void:

Yeah, Digital Manga Publishing does pretty much all of Dark Horse's manga translations and they're the ones who I think do a good job.

Walter said:
Have you read anything Viz has done under their Editor's Choice line? It's better than Dark Horses', Vagabond's translator is on staff, and has even met with the creator. Had DH not picked up Berserk immediately, I have a strong feeling Viz would have. They're the dominant force in the US manga translation industry, and have far more capital and talent than DH have.

That's true, Viz's Editor's Choice line is pretty good, although I don't like what they do to the japanese sound effects. I don't really like Berserk's "FX" texts either, but at least they're not in the way these days. As far as I know DH is the only major publisher that leaves effects totally untranslated (which is the way they should be) for almost every other manga than Berserk.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
BLG said:
Aaz it would be helpful if you included more information and less rudeness in your posts.

Sorry if the truth hurts, but I wasn't being rude in the least, and I believe my posts are perfectly appropriate in regard to what I'm replying to. I also have no incentive to provide people with information they can find themselves with minimal effort when they display such a blatant combination of arrogance and ignorance.

BLG said:
Anyway, I still think some people will never be content with any translations.

So not translating is the way to go, obviously! That's what you're defending here. Do you realize how ridiculous it sounds?

BLG said:
This thread is full of complaints about pretty trivial things and every time a new DH volume is published more of them come in. Relax! It's just a manga!

Trivial says who? This forum is dedicated to Berserk. Do you expect people not to analyze it in detail or deeply care about it? Would you tell a stamp collector "relax, they're just stamps"? As far as SK.net is concerned, you can be sure that Berserk is serious business.

BLG said:
Of course if you really don't like the DH releases, you don't have to buy them. Just remember that for every DH release you don't buy, I'll buy two! :rakshas:

I'd like that actually. Please buy the whole series twice and take a picture of it. That'd earn you back some of my respect.

BLG said:
A 100-man translating group that comes to skullknight.net every day to ask for the best translations would be great too. But I try to be realistic, and realistically DH has done a good job.

Don't be ridiculous. Getting a few talented people, hell even just one very good translator and giving them time would largely suffice. And no need to come ask us anything either.

BLG said:
Translation problems with names etc. are annoying, but they hardly ruin the manga. Even if Guts' was translated as "John" it wouldn't ruin the story. I understand that is an extreme example, but still.

I hope you understand as well that your personal opinion isn't a fact and that most readers would disagree with you.

BLG said:
However, what I meant by a 99% authentic Berserk experience is that for people new to the series, the DH releases offer a good English version that I think successfully conveys that special Berserk feeling. That is what I think is most important.

But the problem is that you aren't qualified to judge whether it's good or not. And it's not that good, just so you know.

BLG said:
You think they copped out by not translating Hanafubuku and I think they made a good conscious decision by not trying to translate something pretty much untranslateable.

It's not untranslatable, and they've actually badly translated things that are very difficult to translate before. You have no point, you're just embarrassing yourself by arguing about things you don't understand. Please stop.
 
BLG said:
Translation problems with names etc. are annoying, but they hardly ruin the manga. Even if Guts' was translated as "John" it wouldn't ruin the story. I understand that is an extreme example, but still.

Yeah.. I see what you mean. :schierke:
http://i39.tinypic.com/iwm3x0.png

Personally, I'm at an impasse. I can't buy the dark horse releases because of the obvious mistakes and I can't buy the Japanese version because a lot of translations are missing from the encyclopedia. I'm fucked either way. :sad:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Ramen4ever said:
Personally, I'm at an impasse. I can't buy the dark horse releases because of the obvious mistakes and I can't buy the Japanese version because a lot of translations are missing from the encyclopedia. I'm fucked either way. :sad:

You've got to buy an edition in any case, lest you suffer my eternal scorn. :azan:
 
Aazealh said:
You've got to buy an edition in any case, lest you suffer my eternal scorn. :azan:

Aazealh, the Berserk manga salesman of terror. :isidro:
Don't worry about me, I'll buy the manga sooner or later. I'm just not interested in buying a product that doesn't satisfy my expectations. I'm not in the lenient camp when it comes to sound effects and incorrect translations. :zodd:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Ramen4ever said:
Don't worry about me, I'll buy the manga sooner or later. I'm just not interested in buying a product that doesn't satisfy my expectations. I'm not in the lenient camp when it comes to sound effects and incorrect translations. :zodd:

Yeah, well I'm not in the lenient camp when it comes to buying sooner than later. :miura:
 

SlimeBeherit

[FIGHT][SPELL] [SACRIFICE][ITEM]
Ramen4ever said:
Yeah.. I see what you mean. :schierke:
http://i39.tinypic.com/iwm3x0.png

Personally, I'm at an impasse. I can't buy the dark horse releases because of the obvious mistakes and I can't buy the Japanese version because a lot of translations are missing from the encyclopedia. I'm fucked either way. :sad:

I bought the Japanese versions even though i can't read them, sure i can't really take them on the go (well only to look at the amazing drawings), but at least this way i feel like I'm supporting Miura a little and not stealing such a epic tale.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Ramen4ever said:
Yeah, well it's my money. :griff:

It's also your right to remain silent. :griff:

Which is better than proliferating excuses on the board. I'm the biggest Dark Horse detractor here, and they still had enough value for me to purchase. And if you've truly, ahem, never seen translations other than those available here, then one would think the DH volumes would be an even more desirable investment for you. The Japanese volumes are also available with translation from acclimatesolutions, so there are no excuses. Put up, or shut up, please.
 
Top Bottom