“aoi has joined your part—No, fuck that.

Website — By on June 24, 2013 10:59 am


Hi, I’m Aoi. Some may already know me from the comments section, but for those who don’t go to the comments(pfft), hello.

The problem with the scanlation scene is that many groups are too scared to touch a series when another group is already doing it, even though their releases are fucking shit. I thought, “Maybe if they were told of their mistakes, they might become better. Or a better group will actually man up and do it, only (slightly) better.”

Anime_girl_thinking_3_(2)

How do we make more people rage improve the quality of scanlations?

With that, I thought Crymore as the perfect place for scanlators to come and rage see their own or other’s mistakes. So when Dark_Sage posted the Crymore Feedback post, I thought I’d request something that a few people have been asking for(including myself): Scanlation Reviews.

This is the best image I can find in 5 minutes.

This image is cute. I’m reusing it.

But instead of requesting for it, I decided since I’ve actually worked as a scanlator before, and Dark_Sage is a terrible procrastinator, I’d just offer myself as tribute a writer instead. So here we are. I’ll be reviewing scanlations from now on.

But what will you review, Aoi?

Good question. For the first review I might go with a random manga (that’s still relevant, I promise), and for the following ones whatever the comments suggest/ask for. If there are no suggestions (sadface), I’ll just review more random ones.

Review Format

The review will judge four parts of the scanlation:  Translation, (English)Grammar, Typesetting, and Quality. The final score will not be an average, instead it will be an “overall” score. Readability ratings will also be included. Because a single manga chapter is usually too short(17/18 pages), I may review more than one chapter in a single review. Of course, manga with long chapters are exempted.

Just because.

Just because.

Well, that’s all for now. Thanks to D_S for giving me an opportunity, and I’ll make sure I won’t disappoint too much.

よろしくおねがいします～



Tags:

73 Comments

2ColouredEyes says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:03 am

>and I’ll make sure I won’t disappoint too much.

and so my watch begins.

Reply
Qrius says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:07 am

rage? frequent use of strike?

I think you’ll fit in quite well

Reply
Velorien says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:20 am

This sounds great. I look forward to seeing your work.

May I suggest the Bleach manga as a good early post? To the best of my knowledge, there are two major groups doing it at the moment, and there is a significant quality gap between them, so it would make an effective showcase of your reviewing style (and since Bleach is pretty popular, it would help a fair few people make a more informed choice).

Reply
aoihakurei says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:22 am

I don’t read nor follow Bleach, but it’s not like that matters. Noted.

Reply
Blah says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:22 am

Oooh, this’ll be interesting. As for suggestions, anything that big groups like RHS or VI are doing would be nice. And if you want to sit through them, you could always try doing Naruto/Bleach/One Piece etc.

Reply
Jii-san says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:31 am

Seriously not trying to offend here, but are you sure you can speak to the quality of the English in a release when there are grammatical errors both in your comments and introductory post? Not to mention the way you write is noticeably stilted.

Reply
aoihakurei says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:33 am

Don’t worry, I’ll be more awake when I actually do the reviews.

Reply
Velorien says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:37 am

Just to clarify, do you know Japanese to a translation-reviewing standard?

Reply
aoihakurei says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:42 am

Enough. Manga translation difficulty is quite low compared to Anime, because you have text. It’s more about how the dialogue/speech bubble is translated and whether or not it’s suited for the character/situation.

Reply
HenAi says:
June 24, 2013 at 2:00 pm

Translation difficulty depends entirely on the manga in question, although having the text does help.
While you generally know what’s written, you may not understand the grammar, mistake the meaning of a word or get kicked in the balls by slang.

Reply
aoihakurei says:
June 24, 2013 at 2:08 pm

Sure, slang might kick me in the balls(if I had any), but I’m pretty sure people in the comments can point out any mistakes in my judgement, so it’s not that big of a deal.

Reply
HenAi says:
June 24, 2013 at 2:27 pm

That was more of a general statement about manga translation and its pitfalls, really.
We’ll see what you can do. :V

Reply
Nevreen says:
June 24, 2013 at 2:33 pm

>spells “judgement” with an ‘e’

I like you already.

Reply
aoihakurei says:
June 24, 2013 at 2:45 pm

Sorry, I was taught in British English. Both are acceptable, imo.

Reply
Nevreen says:
June 24, 2013 at 2:57 pm

You don’t have to apologize. I wasn’t being sarcastic. “Judgement” is the only correct spelling.

Reply
Fred C Dobbs says:
June 24, 2013 at 8:18 pm

Correct. And anyone who can’t see that does themselves no honour, nor lives in my favour, as they’re just taking licence with the way things are properly spelt.

[Pet Peeve: “Traveler”]

Reply
Dark_Sage says:
June 24, 2013 at 9:03 pm

>judgement

Nothankyou

Reply
Fred C Dobbs says:
June 24, 2013 at 10:12 pm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_%28law%29#Spelling

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/judgement

See also: ‘Enquiry’ vs. ‘Inquiry’

:op

Reply
Dark_Sage says:
June 24, 2013 at 10:15 pm

I don’t know what you think you’re proving by linking those. It’s an American English vs. British English issue. Or did you think I was a Brit?

Fred C Dobbs says:
June 25, 2013 at 4:51 am

> I don’t know what you think you’re proving by linking those.

Why, the One True Way to do something, of course!

(Isn’t that what this site is all about?)

> It’s an American English vs. British English issue.

Yes. The well-known language invented by Native Americans prior to colonisation by anybody. So they must have it right, eh?

> Or did you think I was a Brit?

No. (And I’m a transplanted Scot, so please don’t assume I’m playing Gunga Din for La Anglistani: I’m not.)

It’s just that if a people in a given geographical area invent a language over the course of a few thousand years, their way of doing things in it carries more of an imprimatur of Correctness than any bastardisation of it by someone else. (Note: you would likely use ‘bastardization’ rather than ‘bastardisation’, making you wrong and me right, again. And really, when it comes to things relating to Bastards, I am the Subject Matter Expert.)

Anonymous says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:39 am

>and Dark_Sage is a terrible procrastinator

What are you talking about? He’s absolutely wonderful at procrastinating.

Reply
Fred C Dobbs says:
June 24, 2013 at 8:13 pm

Beat you to it. Yesterday.

Reply
Hairy says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:43 am

Only manga I read is hentai.

So, you know, you should review that…

Reply
aoihakurei says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:49 am

I…might? If enough people ask for it, I’ll do it. I find it funny that my first time reading a hentai manga will be to review it, though. Heh.

Reply
Velorien says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:55 am

Since 95% of all hentai sex scenes share the same dialogue, that one review will likely make you an instant expert on the genre. Practically something to put on your CV/resume, that.

Reply
HenAi says:
June 24, 2013 at 2:04 pm

> First time reading a hentai manga
Oh. This will be fun. hahahaha

Reply
KishiFishy says:
June 24, 2013 at 7:12 pm

Reaction videos!?

Reply
snooze says:
June 24, 2013 at 2:26 pm

Wow, you’re pretty innocent aoi.

Reply
Nyangoro says:
June 24, 2013 at 2:38 pm

I demand that all my hentai scanlations be of the utmost in literary quality and cross-lingual semantic integrity.

Reply
corocoro says:
June 24, 2013 at 3:23 pm

Ironically enough the few hentai I read tend to have better English than most normal scanlations.

Reply
GrandMaster_JAX says:
June 24, 2013 at 10:16 pm

Reviewing hentai manga? A challenging task indeed. But if you really want to go that way, then try “MY BALLS”. It even has a story if you are looking for something like that.

Reply
Dao says:
June 24, 2013 at 12:26 pm

You might as well take over the site completely.¬_¬

Reply
TKW says:
June 24, 2013 at 12:37 pm

Dark_Sage is too tsundere to be replaced.

Reply
Dark_Sage says:
June 24, 2013 at 9:02 pm

;_;

Reply
Enz says:
June 24, 2013 at 12:45 pm

Can Mangapanda become the scanlation scene’s Hadena then?

Reply
corocoro says:
June 24, 2013 at 3:23 pm

That spot’s reserved for MangaStream – because not only is everything I read from them bad, they also slap watermarks on it. Willfull destruction is Hadena style. :p
MangaPanda can be SubDESU, though. I guess that would make FrankyHouse Ayako…

Reply
thecowgoesmoo says:
June 24, 2013 at 4:50 pm

What would be the equivalent of Red Hawk Scans?

Reply
Nyangoro says:
June 24, 2013 at 2:35 pm

Here’s an easy template:

[insert group name here]

What’s wrong: Everything

How to fix: Stop doing things

Reply
2ColouredEyes says:
June 24, 2013 at 2:45 pm

Good idea, IMO. More adequate than ‘Stop breathing’, at least.

Reply
Justinnnnnn says:
June 24, 2013 at 3:12 pm

Nice, it’d also be a good chance to get to know any cool manga that’s out there, since I’m severely lacking knowledge there. Try to review good manga teehee?

If only someone would finish translating Zetman…

Reply
askdj says:
June 24, 2013 at 3:20 pm

Good luck. Do you happen to know of any other reviewers of scanlations? Are you basing your reviews off of anything in particular?

Reply
Anon says:
June 24, 2013 at 5:12 pm

Oh, this is gonna be good. I’d better get my popcorn ready.

Reply
Iron says:
June 24, 2013 at 5:37 pm

Interesting. I hope to see some nice reviews! Perhaps you should start reviewing the most popular series, and then other less known ones. This could even help people discover new manga.

Reply
pfish says:
June 24, 2013 at 6:34 pm

oh my god. manga reviews. this one’s gonna be a blast.

Reply
kebal'' says:
June 24, 2013 at 6:36 pm

No. Fuck off. Why don’t you set up a scanlation group instead of bitching about scanlations here.

Reply
KishiFishy says:
June 24, 2013 at 7:13 pm

Why not bitch about scanlations anyway? Seems like it’d be tons of fun.

Reply
Fred C Dobbs says:
June 24, 2013 at 8:12 pm

Your name is pronounced “Owwwie!” isn’t it?

Reply
aoihakurei says:
June 25, 2013 at 2:28 am

Yes.

Reply
Velorien says:
June 25, 2013 at 8:36 am

Sarcasm doesn’t carry well on the Internet, but please tell me that was it.

Reply
aoihakurei says:
June 25, 2013 at 8:41 am

Well, when it comes down to it, pronouncing “あおい” as “Owwwie!” is not really wrong.

Reply
Velorien says:
June 25, 2013 at 8:46 am

I don’t think I’ve ever heard the last vowel stressed like that outside song lyrics and strong American accents. Where have you come across it?

Reply
aoihakurei says:
June 25, 2013 at 10:43 am

I’m kidding.

Reply
Godcore says:
June 25, 2013 at 9:49 am

I seriously hope you’re joking.

Reply
aoihakurei says:
June 25, 2013 at 10:46 am

Your expectations will not be disappointed.
Crymore.net, meeting expectations.

Reply
Godcore says:
June 25, 2013 at 11:26 am

Not really expecting much out of this.

Seriously, though. I hope your intro post is not an indication of the level of English that we can expect from your reviews.

Reply
aoihakurei says:
June 25, 2013 at 11:34 am

It definitely isn’t. Posts that are rushed at 3AMs can’t really serve as an indicator.

I thought I should just post my intro as fast as I can.

Reply
Godcore says:
June 25, 2013 at 12:24 pm

Why the rush? It’s not like you’re being paid to do this. Did D_S give you a deadline or something?

It’s your introductory post. This is where you’re supposed to “wow” us, impress us with your credentials and whatnot.

So far, you’re doing a pretty poor job of it.

Reply
kokujin-kun says:
June 25, 2013 at 1:33 pm

>2013

>Proofreading blog posts

ISHYGDDT

FalseDawn says:
June 25, 2013 at 5:36 pm

All the cool kids proofread blog posts ;D

Fred C Dobbs says:
June 25, 2013 at 5:44 pm

> Seriously, though.

OMFGodcore!

Reply
Fred C Dobbs says:
June 25, 2013 at 5:42 pm

> Sarcasm doesn’t carry well on the Internet

Apparently, in some people’s cases, neither does humour…

Reply
Haidaraaaaa says:
June 24, 2013 at 8:55 pm

You could review the scanlation for shingeki no kyojin. It’s always fun to see reactions of people who have their precious scanlations image shattered.

Reply
Sheep says:
June 26, 2013 at 7:47 pm

I’d like to see this happen as well.

Reply
shark0week0 says:
June 24, 2013 at 11:29 pm

Well good luck with that. Scanlation groups aren’t exactly the type to change, especially the bigger groups, which is why I consider comparisons much more valuable than straight-up reviews. That way readers learn they have choices, instead of being forced to eat the same shit. Of course, there’s hardly any real competition in scanlation so there’s not much content or tears to be had there.

Hopefully the despair you experience from your first couple reviews doesn’t make you want to off yourself :)

Reply
Jii-san says:
June 25, 2013 at 12:32 am

Like Aoi said, there’s kind of a stigma associated with picking up a series another group is already doing, regardless of whether or not their work is shit; plus, if you start doing it, they accuse you of “stealing their beloved project”, as if they can somehow claim to own that series. Not only that, leechers will always end up defending them, even if you point out their mistakes (hey, sounds like fansubbing). They don’t seem to understand that competition fosters quality (or well, that’s how it’s supposed to be).

Though to be fair, I don’t think the big scanlation groups are any worse than the big fansub groups. C averages all around?

Reply
shark0week0 says:
June 25, 2013 at 1:25 am

I meant change as in taking criticism. Probably because they’re used to the praise their leechers heap on them, yes, but they still take it like little girls. I used to comment about little things on release posts, and the next day my comment would mysteriously vanish. And that’s on the lower end of reactions.

C-average for English? Maybe. More like D-average for translations though (of the ones I know of; not that I know who the big groups are anymore).

Reply
Black Ace says:
June 25, 2013 at 12:53 am

please, made first review post about scanlation drama, I want to know more of that

Reply
MrSh4dy says:
June 25, 2013 at 5:39 am

I would love a final verdict on the (active) one piece scanlations. So pwetty pwetty pwease, with a boatload of sugar on top.
If it would please you of course.

(Obviously if it does not, you can just rot in the flames of purgatory…. or something)

Reply
Kirinofag says:
June 25, 2013 at 5:01 pm

This one includes Viz too: http://shark0week0.watashi.biz/?p=645
Unless that’s not final verdict enough for you.

Reply
Raph95 says:
June 25, 2013 at 6:26 am

Holly mother of shits, improve your typography or your(horrible bracket ) placement )will spread cancer over the Internet.

Reply
aoihakurei says:
June 25, 2013 at 8:34 am

Okay. I will.

Reply
Raph95 says:
June 25, 2013 at 10:04 am

Sorry if I sounded bitchy, I tend to be bitchy. Can’t wait for scanlations reviews, had a few laughs at some translations myself, and I’m not even nativefag…

Reply
LuneSave says:
October 20, 2013 at 6:54 am

And she was never seen from again.

Reply

Leave a Comment