Visual Novel Community Drama

Good morning, my twenty readers. Today, I am writing this blog post to delve into the highly controversial release of Nukitashi and share my own super important opinions on the matter.

Let me begin by stating that I won’t be focusing on the translation accuracy or the editing issues surrounding the game. These concerns have been extensively discussed and debated, rendering any further discussion redundant. Instead, I aim to shed light on the recent shift in attitudes between both localizers and fans within the community.

To provide some context, I consider myself a translator/localizer (or, as some may prefer, a “loocalizer” – a term that’s been thrown around lately). However, I am also an avid consumer of both translated and untranslated Japanese media, albeit with a slight bias towards the latter. As such, I am not only involved professionally but also engage with Japanese content as a fan, embracing the allure of the “Nipponeese” culture.

It’s important to note that during the translation process of Nukitashi, I was associated with Solpress, albeit to a minimal extent. I had the opportunity to collaborate with the translator by reviewing and verifying several lines for accuracy, as per their request. My limited involvement in the project was due to my simultaneous engagement with another game being worked on at Solpress. For personal reasons, I prefer not to disclose the specific title of the game I was working on. However, it’s worth mentioning that I only had access to the initial translation script and did not review it after the editing phase took place.

To provide a brief context for those who may not be familiar with the situation:

One of the key figures involved in this controversy is Ittaku, who is currently a translator for the company Nekonyan. Prior to joining Nekonyan, Ittaku gained recognition as a fan translator, having worked on projects such as ToHeart2, Clover Day’s, and HaruUru. He had a brief stint at Solpress, during which he was assigned to work on Nukitashi as his first professional project. Nukitashi posed a significant challenge as it contained an extensive amount of content, exceeding one million characters, packed with references, puns, and humor that proved difficult to translate effectively.

About a year ago, Ittaku, who was more active on Twitter at the time, became engaged in a heated exchange with Gambs. Gambs, known as the head moderator of the r/visualnovels subreddit, holds a position of influence and has a considerable number of subscribers and personal followers on the platform. This Twitter feud eventually spilled over to multiple threads on Reddit, with Gambs highlighting Ittaku’s controversial statements and opinions expressed on Discord. Screenshots of these discussions began circulating widely on Twitter, attracting significant attention only recently, though in reality they’re a year old or so.

This incident coincided with the cyanotype daydream drama, during which Gambs took a strong stance against certain localizers, leading to what could be described as a virtual witch hunt. The controversy surrounding Gambs’ actions was primarily fueled by the localizers’ views and translation choices in their recently released work.

Furthermore, in the Solpress Discord server, the Nukitashi editor made highly controversial statements. He openly admitted to inserting memes with a personal political agenda, referred to Ittaku’s translation as “shit” (although the editor later deleted the post), and made changes to the translation without consulting the translator.

Fast forward to the present, the rights to the Nukitashi translation were acquired by Shiravune. The exact details of how this acquisition took place remain unknown and are of minimal concern to me personally. However, it appears that the final product received only minimal quality assurance testing, if any, before being released.

The drama surrounding Nukitashi intensified due to the presence of inserted memes, significant changes to entire lines without proper context, and a deliberate push from the “anti-woke” localizer crowd. These elements contributed to the heated discussions and controversies surrounding the game’s release.

While there are valid concerns raised by those criticizing the translation, it’s crucial to acknowledge two main issues that often go overlooked in the discussion surrounding the translation process of Nukitashi. These issues are:

• The game, Nukitashi, contains numerous obscure references that are intricately linked to Japanese culture, including but not limited to references to Gundam, TV shows, celebrities, and more. These references are often deeply rooted in the Japanese context and may not be widely known or understood by individuals from other cultural backgrounds. Hell, I’d even argue that those who know Japanese and read the game also struggled with these references and jokes as well.

• Another significant issue that often goes unnoticed is the lack of effective communication and collaboration between the editor and the translator during the translation process of Nukitashi. It is essential for translators and editors to maintain open lines of communication to ensure a cohesive and accurate final product. It doesn’t help either that the editor found the translation to be “shit” either, for whatever reason that might be, since as far as I know the editor doesn’t know Japanese.

While I personally agree with several examples presented in various threads I’ve come across, many overlook the difficulty we face as translators in gauging how much we can preserve references, jokes, and similar elements. Our role is to interpret and convey these interpretations through our work, which inherently carries bias as each person sees things differently. There is no objective “neutral” opinion when it comes to translation, even when striving for a literal 1:1 rendering, as it already reflects an opinion and stance on where one stands in the translation process.

The original Japanese references in the game are intended for a Japanese audience, and it’s important to note that even readers with knowledge of Japanese may not fully understand or follow all of these references. This is why, instead of simply leaving the references as they are and hoping readers will somehow figure them out, it is sometimes preferable to find equivalent references that preserve the original intent. The goal is for readers to identify with a piece of popular culture, which used to be or is still relevant. The same approach applies to jokes—writers aim to make readers laugh, and if a translated joke (while staying true to the original as much as possible) achieves that goal, then the translation itself can be considered a success. While it’s understandable that some may not appreciate these choices, if the current state of the product remains unchanged, it is likely due to its ongoing commercial success and profitability.

I’d also like to touch on the topic of politics. As a professional translator, I’ve encountered numerous colleagues who, like me, translate Japanese media in some way or another. While my experience in the localization field has been relatively brief, it is true that a majority of my peers hold left-leaning views. However, in most cases, their personal beliefs do not dictate their moral compass when it comes to their work. I want to emphasize that, as an individual, I lean strongly towards the right-wing spectrum. Occasionally, my views may unintentionally influence my work, but I make a conscious effort to address and rectify any biases during subsequent revisions. This can happen to anyone, but I find it disingenuous that certain “right-wing memes” or similar elements are overlooked, while those considered “woke” are heavily criticized. Nevertheless, I understand that many hardcore enthusiasts of this media share right-leaning ideologies, much like myself.

Putting these matters aside, it is crucial to recognize that what Ittaku and other translators are currently facing can only be described as a witch hunt. They are being targeted for factors that were largely beyond their control.

Perhaps Ittaku should have exercised more discretion when discussing sensitive topics such as pedophilia, his involvement in Nukitashi, or the behind-the-scenes details of the project. I can agree with that. Should the Twitter and Reddit communities take a chill pill? Yes.

For some reason, it seems like many perceive this as an “us vs. them” situation, where they believe individuals like myself are on a mission to undermine Japanese media in one way or another. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Personally knowing Ittaku, I can attest that he is driven by a genuine passion for these games. He is not engaged in this work to assert any personal moral superiority over others, or at least that’s my belief.

We must not continue to normalize harassment against translators, as it only serves to widen the already substantial divide between us and the people who support and sustain the industry.

Simultaneously, it is true that many translators / localizers (editors and other staff are included here) have recently become quite bold in their decision-making processes, and this cannot be allowed to persist. Such behavior only harms the industry as a whole and further alienates fans from the localization community.

Personally, I would also appreciate it if people stopped trying to find controversy or political undertones in every translated line, as if actively seeking reasons to be offended. It’s the epitome of an overly American-centric approach towards Japanese media, and it’s becoming rather tiresome.

Anyways, that’s all I needed to talk about. I feel like I needed to voice my opinion on the matter, because if I don’t defend my colleagues now, who will defend me if I ever fall prey to a witch hunt myself?

See you another time,

Bee