Pokemon Adventures volume 8 review thread

[Joshawott]

The problem with Viz's translation is that while they make fewer errors than Chuang Yi, their errors are intentional. (changing monks to sages, changing Gold's Pokémon from -taro to -bo, etc.)

So the problem is Viz make LESS mistakes? Stop whining about their mistakes then. Also, weren't the Monks "Sages" in the English games? Also, I'm surprised they kept the nicknames (apart from the -taro), like Typhlosion. I thought they would have had Tybo or something; not still using it's Japanese name.

Besides, -bo sounds cuter.

[Adamant]

Chuang Yi's translation is clearly done by people unfamiliar with the franchise, and has a tendency to mistranslate some things that aren't entirely obvious (I don't think they ever figured out that "tokusei" is a very specific in-game term), and they could've done a better job at checking which characters were original to the series and which were taken from the games and already had English names (don't think they ever fixed "Maryanne and Tyler"'s names), but at least they stuck relatively close to the original script instead of changing shit around for no reason.

And if Viz dealt with the monk scene by just tossing in the game names and leaving it at that, ruined joke and all, they definitely didn't handle that better.

[NeoKING]

Coincidentally, "Aibo(u)" means "Partner" in Japanese, which is what Gold tells Prof. Oak he considers Pokemon to be(similar to Red's "Comrades" and Yellow's "Friends" as shown in this volume) while the "bo" part of that kanji actually means "pole" or "cue" like the billiards cue that Gold uses to fight. Nice coinky-dink, but only makes sense when you consider the Japanese word "aibo(u)."

[Shiny Noctowl]

So the problem is Viz make LESS mistakes? Stop whining about their mistakes then.

They make fewer mistakes, but their mistakes are worse. And they're (mostly) intentional.

[Joshawott]

They make fewer mistakes, but their mistakes are worse. And they're (mostly) intentional.

Mistakes =/= Edits
And Chuang Yi's edits shows that the company don't know the franchise very well.

Coincidentally, "Aibo(u)" means "Partner" in Japanese, which is what Gold tells Prof. Oak he considers Pokemon to be(similar to Red's "Comrades" and Yellow's "Friends" as shown in this volume) while the "bo" part of that kanji actually means "pole" or "cue" like the billiards cue that Gold uses to fight. Nice coinky-dink, but only makes sense when you consider the Japanese word "aibo(u)."

Makes more sense than "Taro". Anyway, let's not turn this into another Chuang Yi or Viz Media thread...

I placed my order for Volume 8 today, as my local site now lists them as in stock.

[NeoKING]

They make fewer mistakes, but their mistakes are worse. And they're (mostly) intentional.

Please, stop. What Viz does isn't called making mistakes. It's called "translating." It's an art, not a freaking science, so if they can find a decent translation that fite under whatever limits they may have at the time that still gets the point across, then it's fine. Stop being Japanophile purist no.1 for a second and just understand this. People get so caught up in Japanese that they often forget that the English language has a wide array of Japanese equivalents that can be used when the need calls for it, and it's pretty retarded. Go on and get pissy because "-taro" is OBVIOUSLY a common suffix for boys' names in America. Just because the official translation done by professionals doesn't match what a scanlation done on the net might put out or a translation done in Singapore English by people who didn't really do a good job doesn't mean the professional translation has "errors." It just shows that they're better at translating.

Oh, by the way guys, "-bo" IS an actual nicknaming trend in America, though it is uncommon. I hear it every now and then at school though.

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

So a name change is an error or an edit? It's not common in English for names to end in -taro like it is in Japanese. Granted, -bo is uncommon, but to most English speakers, -taro is two random syllables.

That is neither an error nor an edit. Simply a change. Get over it.

[Shiny Noctowl]

DPA kept the characters' Japanese names; why can't Special?

[Kayi-chan]

DPA kept the characters' Japanese names; why can't Special?

Because it's Special and not DPA?

Hello, honey. I hadn't seen you since the Lady Berlitz crisis. I missed you.

Anyways, we'll just have to accept it. If you can't, simply order the Chuang Yi translations and leave those who want the Viz ones alone.

[Joshawott]

DPA kept the characters' Japanese names; why can't Special?

My name's Joshua. Do I whine and moan if someone calls me Joshua or Joshi? No. It's a freakin' syllable at the end of a name.

If you prefer Chaung Yi's translations, that's fine - we're allowed to have our own opinion. But don't bitch and moan about every single thing Viz does different. Not wrong, different.

[Shiny Noctowl]

Because it's Special and not DPA?

They're in the same franchise and translated by the same people.

Anyways, we'll just have to accept it. If you can't, simply order the Chuang Yi translations and leave those who want the Viz ones alone.

People shouldn't have to pay 3x the price to get a decent translation. Viz's "translation" of Pokémon Special is the single worst insult to the franchise since the first movie.

[Joshawott]

People shouldn't have to pay 3x the price to get a decent translation. Viz's "translation" of Pokémon Special is the single worst insult to the franchise since the first movie.

Apart from the Green/Blue name swap (Understandable really) and the Booball edit...what other major edits were made?

Also, Chaung Yi's translation is worse..."Blaze-type" , "Evil-type", getting names mixed up, not doing research. At least Viz Media do research; restoring the Sages' game names proves that.

[Kayi-chan]

They're in the same franchise and translated by the same people.\

Yes, so? Different series might mean different people makes the actual translations. Bring me the list of translators and prove it that they're the same, and maybe I'll concede you a point in your favor. Otherwise, it's just the same company and many different teams under them.

People shouldn't have to pay 3x the price to get a decent translation. Viz's "translation" of Pokémon Special is the single worst insult to the franchise since the first movie.

The first movie, sir, was awesome. Shame you weren't on its target demographic back then, but I was.

And if you don't want to pay, there's always piracy. Do it at your own risk, or just fold those wildly flaying arms of yours and have nothing at all. Or, you know? Just accept the Viz translation.

[Shiny Noctowl]

The first movie, sir, was awesome. Shame you weren't on its target demographic back then, but I was.

Actually, I was, but I still hated it then. As with Pokémon Special, a good product was ruined by the translators. I'd like to quote this from Dogasu's comparison of the first movie:

The script is rather bad. If I went through and listed every difference between the Japanese script and the American one, I'd be typing out the transcript of the entire movie. I'm not kidding. A few times, they got the gist of what was said, but a lot of what was said was ad-libbed, dumbed-down, or just altered for no known reason.

The above quote applies equally well to Viz's "translation" of Pokémon Special.

Also, Chaung Yi's translation is worse..."Blaze-type" , "Evil-type", getting names mixed up, not doing research. At least Viz Media do research; restoring the Sages' game names proves that.

Chuang Yi's mistakes are acceptable because they're somewhat rare and it's still possible to understand what's going on without too much trouble. Viz's changes, however, are just censorship.

[Joshawott]

Chuang Yi's mistakes are acceptable because they're somewhat rare and it's still possible to understand what's going on without too much trouble. Viz's changes, however, are just censorship.

To be fair, it is a children's manga and some things are more socially acceptable in Japan than the Western World. Only form of Censorship I've seen was the Booball scene, which for a mere panel and a few speech bubbles, people are blowing out of proportion.

As said earlier, "-taro" was probably changed to "-bo" to fit into speech bubbles easier. It's like how anime dubbing company will alter the words in a script to fit the lip flaps.

Chuang Yi's Mistakes:
Volume 8 - "Blaze-type"
Volume 9 - Both Tyranitar and Kingdra being referred to as "Kingora". "Evil-type", Sneasel being labelled as Evil-type, and not Ice. Kingdra's trainer listed as Dragon, instead of type.

All the Viz Media mistakes I've seen are simple ones, such as spelling Meowth as "Mewoth" in one panel, and Slowpoke as "Slowpoké". Easily understandable.