What makes a translation group? Depending on a medium of story telling, an answer can be different. For an international manga community, the answer to the mentioned question would usually have the followings:
-Raw provider
-Translator
-Proofreader
-Typesetter
-Cleaner/redrawer
-Quality checker
After having joined and collaborated with a myriad of translation groups, I came to notice a certain trend of thoughts among numerous readers—It is that there is no high demand for typesetters and cleaners. However, that’s not the case at all. As minor as their roles might seem to appear, I would even go far to claim that if it weren’t for them, many translation groups would’ve collapsed. Or not even have existed in the first place.
Without people in these two divisions, I reckon the workload’s weight multiplies by about twice or triple(sometimes even quadruple, depending on a series) for the team. For instance, if I had at least one re-drawer bro to collaborate with, my translation work for both Minamoto-Kun and BSM could be weekly; heck, maybe even less than a week. That’s the extent of difference that one re-drawer can make. Same goes for typesetters. If it weren’t for these two types of workers, the sheer amount of workload would have discouraged many translation teams from continuing. Consequently, many mangas wouldn’t have been translated. Imagine how you would feel if you can’t have read new chapters for your favorite works. In spite of how minor their roles might come across, typesetters and cleaners also play pivotal roles in helping you experience that happiness. Dedicating hours of their time and Working For free.
I’ve talked to many readers who believe that cleaning is rather straight-forward and easy. Certainly, for white bubbles, the work is easy. However, that’s not always the case (as shown here). Additionally, the difficulty of a task does not necessarily determine its value. One could argue that being a coder for Apple Inc. is most likely more complex than being a farmer. However, that doesn’t mean that the farmer’s career should be undermined in comparison to that of a coder. Instead, both should be valued.
If translators are the ones working in the shadow of this manga community that is unfortunately dominated by aggregation sites(read my article here for more info), typesetters and cleaners are the ones working at the deepest end of the shadow. Only a tiny number of people in this community express thanks to these people.
*Source: Real Account II Chapter 94
As a translator, I often get thanks messages, and I can’t express how fulfilling that feels; my time and effort dedicated to these fictional works were not meaningless. Such comments/messages have helped me to replenish my motivation bar to its maximum. That’s why I genuinely find it tragic how almost atomic-sized part of the community ever send appreciation message to typesetters and cleaners. That’s why if you ever a person fitting in either of these two categories, it would be really awesome of you to cheer them on or something.
Another thing I came to realize after meeting and chatting with different translation groups is that not many translators bother to try doing all six roles by themselves independently. And that’s what I’ve been doing for 5 projects, so I guess I can take pride in that.
Current list of Glasses-Kun’s Translation Works Since Mid Of June:
–Hajimete No Gal: Currently Ch31-37 done. (6 roles alone done here)
–Real Account II: Ch 61-62, 9 pages of Ch 63one (6 roles alone done here)
–Minamoto-kun Monogatari: Currently Ch210-211 done (6 roles alone done here)
–Busou Shoujo Machiavellianism: Currently Ch31 done (6 roles alone done here)
–Prison Lab: Currently Ch12-15 done (Just Translation for Mangazuki)
–Okusama ga seitokai kaichou: Ch 43 done (6 roles alone done here)
–Perfect Classroom: prologue, chapter 1-2 done (Just Translation for Soda Scan)
-Some occultic nine doujinshi done (Just Translation for Red Lantern District)
In spite of how time-consuming the overall lone wolf experience was, I’m glad that I tried them all. Because thanks to it, I learned to become more appreciative of the under-appreciated typesetters and cleaners in our community. It helped me see the team efforts behind each translated chapter of different mangas more clearly, and I can confidently claim that I came to enjoy this medium more than ever before.
So if being a translator, typesetter or cleaner ever piques your interest, give it a shot. If you feel bored or dull with the way things are now for you, give it a shot. It might be the unexpected stimulus you need.
Depending on your mindset and the translation group, it could lead to an eye-opening experience. It’s also refreshing to have a broader view of this online community’s both virtues and vices. Lastly, the experience helps you become a nicer person who is more appreciative of under-appreciated people out there in the world.
So with that all said, Let’s get back to BSM and
classic tale of Minamoto-Kun Monogatari
BSM:
Ch33 Summary:
-More info about ‘The Private Hokkai Symbiosis Academy’: A school at the North end of Japan. The Private Hokkai Symbiosis Academy is also called ‘Institution’ (it is arguable whether this nickname has some military connotations). Unlike Nomura’s school, this other school began off as all-male school.
-Amou turns to leave after stating that the matters are over then. However, Koharu tells her that depending on Amou’s attitude, she will be able to return to Aichi Academy(Where Nomura and others are). Amou claims that she can see Koharu’s intention of having her owe her a favor. Amou also adds that same things will repeat,even if she were to return…but still, that thought of returning is what’s helping her live on. Koharu claps her hands and promises her, even saying that she came to like Amou a bit.
-After Amou leaves, Koharu analyzes and discusses Amou’s body and her skill ‘auto-counter’ with principal (Another reason why I’m not translating this chapter. So much dialogue, and I actually have no idea what they are on about). Koharu rambles on about how impressed she is with Amou and mentions how her father will likely be interested in her. The principal says that Nomura will be a target of interest too. Koharu responds by saying she will leave Nomura alone, since Tsukuyo (bunny-looking girl) seems to be interested in her. *Somewhere along the line, it is also revealed that Koharu has an amazing older brother, who she and Tsukuyo really, really like. Brocons basically.
–Koharu says that the other school’s violent environment suits current Amou, as her emotions are in turmoil. It will give her time to reflect and vent out her stress. Koharu then remembers about the other school’s group that is similar to her school’s ‘Supreme Five Swords’. The only difference is that the other group’s members positions can be passed to whoever that beats the person with the position. Then, Koharu asks the principal whether she thinks Amou can reach the top of ‘Institution’. The principal goes silent for a while and responds with “…Beating the current top of Hokkai Academy will be difficult…”
Koharu: What was his name again? Not that I’m interested in any other male besides my older brother, to be honest.
Principal: The Emperor Of Vestige. Nonomura Kigize.
Also known as ‘Swaying Nonomura‘.
*He has three nicknames, but I’m not sure of how to translate one of them(The one in the second bubble). The other two nicknames actually sound pretty cool, so I tried to be succinct while trying to retain their dignity as much as possible.
Now with that out of the way, time to finally start translating
Busou shoujo Machiavellianism for real~
Ch34: Will work on it ASAP (Any comment/support will fuel my motivation)
*Edit: Currently until Ch40 out.
Minamoto-Kun Monogatari(MKM) Ch262:
Many of you might’ve noticed that I skipped 50 chapters worth of content from where I stopped last time(Ch211). A few reasons why I did this
1.There’s zero character development for Terumi as a character. I saw no value in spending 10+ hours to translate them all, when it leads to….nothing.
2.Interesting female character(at least in my opinion) enters from this chapter onward. My sole motivation
I might give a summary of what happened in the missing 50 chapters for those who are interested. If you are, feel free to leave a comment or directly message me on MAL or twitter. Don’t worry, I can promise you that your enjoyment of chapters from chapter 261 will not be affected by the missing chapters, which explored Terumi’s interaction with two new female characters.
Pg3(will be omitted due to containing spoilers. You need to read the omitted chapters to understand what’s going on anyway)
Pg4 (flashback)
With that, Chapter 262 is complete~ I think I will just edit the title and continue on with Ch263 below. I will work on the missing pages when I catch up the latest chapter and have time. Regarding the summaries for the skipped arcs……I will have to find time for that sooner or later, I suppose. However, at the same time, there is a possibility in which the Mangazuki translation team(People in the same translation group as me who also translate this series) don’t want that, so I will let it be for now.
If somebody can bundle these 6 pages and share them on reddit with credits to me, that help would be greatly appreciated. If not…oh well, I guess I will have to find time to do that later on.
Ch263:
*Edit: I talked to Alaitheen, one of Mangazuki’s two admins. It seems Saff, the original translator of the series in Mangazuki team, is pretty dedicated to the series. After hearing that, I thought it would be a dick move to snipe the series away from him, even though 2 months have already passed (meaning that I’m officially permitted to snipe the series and translate it). So yeah, guess our journey ends here…unless something happens later on. If you have any question about what happens in the series later on, please feel to ask me on MAL, twitter or in the comment section below. Cheers, and I hope you have a nice day.
If there is no update by the end of August, I might pick it up again.
#Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter so that you guys can know when I upload/complete the translation and also know more about what’s going on. I’m usually more active on twitter.
#If you guys enjoy the translation, please leave a comment/support below or on MyAnimeList(Tell me what series you are following if possible). Any support would be greatly appreciated. It seriously gives me so much motivation and helps with accelerating my translation speed.
#How to help Glasses-Kun? Any gift is greatly appreciated. So far, I’ve received a rifle and a game(Nekopara 3) on Steam.
Dreamer 
I know that there is spoiler, but at least could you add it with the warning? and the flashback will be nice to have a view of “which” flashback it is
I saw most of the raw from before chapt 261, so I know someone else did the same and we will appreciate the full 262 chapter even with spoilers and flashbacks.
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I’ve done some cleaning(really basic stuff) and typesetting for shitposts, it’s super fun, especially typesetting, as it’s a bit easier imo. Might get back to typesetting if there is demand and if I have time!
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You are absolutely right 🙂
Typesetters and Cleaners are amazing as well behind the Translators 🙂 good luck for all of you and thanks for the hard work !!
Sure thing to give it a shot and learn from it to be able to help 🙂
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Thanks for the insight! Indeed, we often throw our gratitude mostly to Translators while somehow neglecting other contributors. Yeah, I think they are quite under appreciated because the general common sense states that it’s the role of the translator to be the main one, while in reality, each member of a group is necessary.
Then again, I might be used to Light Novels where I believe the only roles are Translator and Editor, so I’m not knowledgeable about Manga, or even Anime’s groups’ roles (or rather, I think I know some names, but never really understood fully each role).
Well, typesetter and cleaner seems to require less time to learn, so I might as well give it a shot. Though it would be nice to acquire some new skills, reality is bound to get in the way.
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Oh cool. Extremely belated thank you for Highschool of the dead, Omamori himari and most importantly Angel Beats. If it weren’t for you, I’m sure countless people would not have been able to enjoy watching certain stories, characters and etc…
I can easily see how almost nobody would express his/her thanks to the encoder after downloading the files. Thank you very much for having spent your valuable time and effort on such unrewarding job for the community. We really appreciate it.
Just out of curiosity, how long does the work take for one episode? And does the work time differ for different qualities, such as 360, 720 and 1080P?
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Thanks! And for me just being in the credits was/is enough, just knowing that my work is out there is what helps me sometimes when I’m down.
And is just until you are inside of the thing you like most is when you understand all of the work other people has being doing so far and how sometimes is under-appreciated but still they continue to work because is not just what other people love, is what they love too and then you understand that and start to live by.
Q: how long does the work take for one episode?
A: Justs for encode depends on the specs of your PC, back in the days I had a laptop with an i3 (don’t remember the model) and like 8 GB of ram, so it was like even 18 hrs of render time that you can’t pause neither stop because that could mess the final encode and you will have to start all over again, and it was because of the filters we applied to the raw and the process it takes to do it.
Q: And does the work time differ for different qualities, such as 360, 720 and 1080P?
A: Yes it does. The lower the resolution the less process it needs in the pixels by frame, so creating a 360 file could take just like 3-4 hrs vs 1080 that could be 24 hrs (with older specs)
Now I have a better pc but currently not using it to encode, unfortunately (mostly because of time) 😦
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That seems… savage. I mean, i3 and 8GB of ram is considered old? Whelp, mine has those very same specs…
By the way, wouldn’t want to sound dumb, but what exactly encoding means? Or rather, would you mind enlightening this low leecher about the process of fansubbing? I remember being translators, editors, typesetters and encoders. But I never really clearly understood what the latter did, I mean, wouldn’t creating the sub files (.ass) and use it on a raw be enough?
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hahaha sorry, I’m not saying it is old to have an i3, I’m saying the one that I had was old, not everyone needs +8 cores and +8 threads 😛
Well, for the main part of the encode it is to merge the raw + audio + subs but sometimes the raw is not good enough and there is no other to find so what you do is to test some fiters to improve the quality to some level. Also, at least in our side, was included the animation of the OP and ED, there is also the insert at an specific frame/time of the translation for some panel that you need to show, like when you are translating the name of the shop or something like that, so at the end you have a file that you have to create to tell when the OP starts + the animation for the fansub + the title of the chapter (if needed) + the start of the chapter + any other panel needed + Ed + post ed scenes and to all of this the sync of the audio and the subtitles.
And this process is done like 3 times, the first time is for preQC, which tells the translator/typesetter how the animation goes so it could use some color or font type for that case, then the QC encode to see if everything is ok because sometimes there is the case when the audio is out of sync or a frame was bad and we have to fix it, and at the end it is the final encode, the one that is shared with the final resolution.
At least that was in our case, sure can be done easily but the leader didn’t like it that way xD
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Many Thanks for the deep insight and explanation over the process. I’ve always wondered why fansub groups created their own version of the video source, when raws were out and you could just create subtitles files. But I suppose it isn’t that simple in reality.
Then again, even without that, creating subs itself is something that requires great efforts. Not to mention, with Anime typesetter have to keep in mind the moving animation factor, so it’s harder.
Really, my gratitude to you and all fansub groups out of here. Though as of lately, with so many streaming simulcast platforms (pfffff, Netflix), the role of fansubber has been somehow downgraded I believe.
Your leader is a good man then, being nitpicking is something I see in a very positive light.
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Working as an encoder for anime in the past, I truly understand what you’re saying. Thanks for all of your hard work.
If you could re-upload Minamoto-kun 210 & 211 will be nice,, if not, then it’s ok. I saw the raws from 212 – 259, but if you could explain what happened in 250 will be great.
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Oh, how was it? An experience of an encoder for anime is not a story one can often hear, so I’m pretty interested in it.
I will go back to re-uploading them when I complete this chapter. Or I might do both at the same time. Regarding chapter 250, I will make sure to include in the explanation for it in the summary.
Thanks a lot for the support. It’s strongly appreciated.
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As an experience it was one of the best moments I had with the fansub, great moments, we were like 4 in the team, it was the leader which was the one finding the raws and organizing the stuff, the translator/timmer, the qc, and 2 enconders, due to the limitations of my pc I was in charge of the 720P since it was taking me like 12-18 hrs of render time to get it, and it was painful when there was a qc issue related and had to re-do all over again.
We had already some presets to use, but sometimes we went and tried to improve the image just a little bit with the features we had. It was nice to give our own touch to the final product.
Just have in mind our mojo was “slowly but surely” 😛 we prefer to have a nice job instead of a fast one since we didn’t had the time for both
Unfortunately the forum where we were born is no longer and some of our work is still out there somewhere, a few of the projects I was involved includes “Angel Beats”, “Highschool of the Dead”, “Aki Sora (some ova I guess)”, “Bikini Warriors”, “Dance in the Vampire Bund”, “Omamori Himari”, those are the ones that I can remember. We never finished “Black Bullet” and “Sora no otoshimo – Eternal My Master”
Anything else just ask 😉
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