Localization for the English-speaking market, also known as English Adaptation, requires both intensive copy editing and the utmost care not to change the meaning of the author’s original words.
The ability to interpret literal translations that lack proper English grammar and sequence is also important. These translations may also include irony, metaphor, jokes, songs or poetry, each of which requires special attention to produce the proper effect in English while adhering to its original meaning.
I specialize in localization writing for internationally licensed comics, video games and other story-oriented visual media. To illustrate this process, below is a literal translation of the Japanese comic Tramps Like Us vol. 4, followed by my English adaptation of the script, and then final pages from the published graphic novel.
BEFORE
This is the literally translated script I received.
AFTER
This is the same script after my English adaptation.
FINAL
PLEASE NOTE: Like all manga, or Japanese comics, this graphic novel reads RIGHT-TO-LEFT. This is done out of respect for the creator’s original artwork, and to keep Japanese signs, art and cultural symbols from being read backwards.
To read, start at the top right of each page (the images below are two-page spreads), then read across and down to the left, in a mirror image of how you would read a Western-style comic.
Tramps Like Us, aka Kimi wa Pet, was originally published in Japan in 2000 by Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo.
© 2000 Yayoi Ogawa. English text © 2005 TOKYOPOP Inc.
