The Official Gundam: The Origin Manga Thread

[Kratos]

From what Standing V said earlier in that thread, Vertical has some stubborn insistence on doing absolutely everything in-house, which is likely the reason that they never contacted Mark.

I almost hate posting like this, because I don't think the weird translation ruins the overall work and I want the people who have been enjoying it so far to continue to do so, our negativity notwithstanding. I don't think this deserves boycotting, and in fact I think the positives of these releases vastly outweigh the negatives.

But...

I know some people have said that they think this volume flows better than the last, but at initial reading, I can't say that I really agree with that. The first volume had some major stand-out things and the odd minor flubbed line here and there, but this one has a TON of the latter. Little stuff, sure, but it really does feel like the the translation often misses the point of what/how a character is saying something. Stuff like Char saying "I'm just glad you catch my drift" instead of, say, "I'm just glad you understand" - yeah, they technically MEAN the same thing, but the former has implications that don't belong in the context of that conversation. It feels like whoever wrote the localisation is "flowering up" his or her words by choosing fancier versions of phrases but not understanding the proper use of them.

[toysdream]

Don't go bringing me into this! Vertical is a well-regarded publisher with a lot of professional translation talent at the top ranks, and there's no reason they need help from me or any other civilian to do their job.

And I don't think the previous phrasings should be considered canonical. When I was doing stuff for Sunrise and Bandai, I tried to stay consistent with their previous adaptations whenever possible, because that was part of my job and because I had all the source materials close at hand. But if the phrasing used in a previous adaptation didn't work in the new context, or if - on reflection - it was kind of crummy, then we'd usually have no problem changing it.

So there's no reason a professional translator couldn't work directly from the Japanese source and arrive at a perfectly good English version that bears no resemblance to previous adaptations. If some of the phrasing strikes you as awkward, then that's a legit criticism, but I hope it's not detracting too much from your enjoyment of the awesomeness of The Origin!

-- Mark

[Deacon Blues]

Don't go bringing me into this! Vertical is a well-regarded publisher with a lot of professional translation talent at the top ranks, and there's no reason they need help from me or any other civilian to do their job.

We were referring to you for terminology of Gundam lore. They had some name and technical issues in the initial volume of the Origin. A bunch of rank snafus and what not. But, I already slapped them with that little tidbit.

So there's no reason a professional translator couldn't work directly from the Japanese source and arrive at a perfectly good English version that bears no resemblance to previous adaptations.

I've found quite often that a majority of the translators and/or editors have no interest or familiarity with the particular work they are helming. This poses a problem for the entire process. We as translators are supposed to have a sense of fluidity and transparency in our translations... in a sense the target language is supposed to be presented in such a way that it doesn't read like a translation but in a way that would sort of "trick" the reader into thinking it was originally wrote in English.

However in Vertical's case, I can't figure out how they even arrived at some of their translations. There's only so many ways you can tool around a particular line before you start crossing into the realm of "this is so far from the original it's not even funny".

[JulieYBM]

I think what's really bugging me is the ranks. Sure, Garma-taisa could work as 'Colonel Garma', but this is a series about ships in space! It just seems weird that Garma would be a colonel rather than a captain when there would be no such need for a colonel rank for a force originating from space. This is even weirder considering Char is referred to as a lieutenant commander and Bright a lieutenant when almost everyone else is apparently in the army or air force. Is Char going to show up at the Belfast arc acting as Colonel Char?

[toysdream]

Where the animation translations were concerned, Sunrise requested that we use army ranks for the Federation ground forces, and navy ranks for the space forces. (Basically because Revil is literally "General Revil", and Tianem is literally "Admiral Tianem" - their Japanese honorifics are service-specific.)

If Sunrise had asked me, I probably would have proposed using army ranks for Zeon's ground forces and Kycilia's Mobile Assault Force as well. After all, these branches are organized into divisions and battalions, rather than fleets and squadrons. So if anything, I'm a little jealous that Vertical's translators got to do this and I didn't.

(Not sure what I'd have done when it came to Char's assignment with the submarine fleet. Perhaps I'd have toggled him to a naval Captain for those episodes, then to an army-style Colonel when he rejoins the main Mobile Assault Force, or perhaps we could say that the submarine fleet are analogous to the US Marines and thus use army-style ranks. But it's purely hypothetical at this point!)

-- Mark

[SlowTurtle]

Just got my copies of Gundam The Origin Vol. one and two today and must say those water color pages are truly beautiful. Reading these to volumes back to back makes me feel young again.....corny sounding I know but yeah I'm enjoying them that much and I can't wait for volume three.

[Kratos]

So Ed Chavez was at a convention I went to this weekend, and I had the chance to have a pretty good conversation with him after the Vertical panel. Some interesting tidbits:

*There will indeed be 12 volumes in Japan, and Vertical is indeed considering condensing the English release to 11. Ed mentioned that they might do this by taking a Sayla side story, excising it from the main events of the series, and moving it to its own volume. The only Sayla side story that I've come across is part of the main events of the story, though, so I'm not really sure how that would work; he mentioned parts of it are in vol. 11, so he didn't mean Artesia 0083.

*The covers are mandated by Banrise to show Amuro, Char, or the Gundam - no other characters (though he's pushing for Sayla).

*I did (tactfully) bring up the translations, but Ed himself had little to say about them, since that's mostly editorial.

*Though it's nothing even remotely official, if we do end up getting another Gundam manga out of Vertical, it may be Unicorn, as interest was expressed in it by Ed.

The Vertical panel itself was pretty good, with a lot of time spent promoting THE ORIGIN. Promoting it well, too - it was pretty clear that Ed himself is a big fan of THE ORIGIN, and people in the audience seemed quite excited by the series (though it's not like attendance at the panel was huge, or anything).

[MV6000 the Ace Zeon Pilot]

I hope they don't remove anything. They should leave Origins as is the way it was intended.

[Kratos]

We'll see. There's a long while until vol. 11 and 12, and very little seems to be set in stone; a friend of mine asked about their intended approach to the song lyrics of "Ai Senshi" that appear in vol. 8, and Ed said that was pretty far off and hadn't really been considered yet, so I seriously doubt this is anything but speculation on his part. I think it probably depends on whether or not Artesia 083 is included in vol. 12 in Japan.

[Wellman]

Volume 1 finally came in the mail, have to admit it is great.

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

I think what's really bugging me is the ranks. Sure, Garma-taisa could work as 'Colonel Garma', but this is a series about ships in space! It just seems weird that Garma would be a colonel rather than a captain when there would be no such need for a colonel rank for a force originating from space. This is even weirder considering Char is referred to as a lieutenant commander and Bright a lieutenant when almost everyone else is apparently in the army or air force. Is Char going to show up at the Belfast arc acting as Colonel Char?

Remember Colonel Tigh from BSG?

[RLZIII]

Vertical stated today on Twitter that volume 3 of The Origin is likely to have the same print run as volume 2 (7,500 units it seems; I'm pretty sure volume 1 was 10,000). That's good news and shows that preorders didn't slip from volumes 2 to 3. Of course it's expected that there will be a fall in preorders from the first volume to the second; but it's good to see the fans continue to preorder the same amount from the second. Good news for the remainder of the series (even though it's still very early in the run).

[MV6000 the Ace Zeon Pilot]

Hopefully things stay steady so we can keep on getting more volumes.

[MaC]

I've pre-ordered each volume as they become available on Amazon and have enjoyed them both immensely. The dialog, between the jilted translation and awkward spacing inside the word balloons hasn't really bothered me to the point where my attitude towards these books has changed in any way to damn thankful I'm finally able to read them and own them

[RLZIII]

The cover for the third volume is out and features a Gouf on the front. Definitely check it out: http://amzn.com/1935654977

On a side note, though somewhat related, the second edition of Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation (the recent reprint of the English translation of Tomino's Gundam novels) is about to sell out on Amazon. As of this post Amazon is down to eight left. This is a great translation of the original novels which feature a unique take on Mobile Suit Gundam with Tomino in "full" control of the story. You get all three novels in one for around $12; that's pretty hard to beat. I'm sure that it will still be available to buy elsewhere online and that used availability will be good for a while; but now is the time to get this novel because it seems like the print run is already done. Of course it may never get a third edition. After the first edition of this compilation went out of print (and before the second edition was released in April 2012), it was not uncommon to see this novel selling for over $100 on Amazon and eBay. So I'd get it now for sure!

[bullethead]

Man, whoever painted that pic made the monoeye look goofy as hell.

[Kratos]

Don't you mean...GOUF-y okayI'llstop.

But hey, wow, they switched the cover. The version I saw had Hooded Desert Amuro on the cover and that Gouf pic on the back cover. While I liked the desert cover, I guess this means that Sunrise has loosened their cover regulations a bit from only Char, Amuro, or the Gundam.

[MV6000 the Ace Zeon Pilot]

Well it makes sense to have the Gouf on the cover since that volume is called Ramba Ral. I don't know about you guys but when someone mentions that name the first image that comes to mind is his Gouf.

[Dark Duel]

Well, Volume 2 is entitled "Garma", and yet it shows Amuro on the front cover and White Base on the back. No sign of Garma - unless the explosion behind WB is his ship's(likely enough).
But yeah you're right, it does make sense in this case.

[RLZIII]

People are excited that the cover features the Gouf because Vertical had stated that with the second volume they wanted to put Garma on the cover, but essentially the higher-ups in Japan said that only Amuro, Char, or the Gundam could be featured on any of the covers (at the time, Vertical said they were pushing for Sayla as well). So it comes as quite the surprise that just a few weeks after reading that statement that the third volume's cover features the Gouf. Hopefully subsequent volumes will feature some appropriate covers as well. I am really hoping that the final volume will feature a nice image of the RX-78-2 performing the "final shot," as that moment has always been a very strong one. Still hoping for a MG in the future with "final shot" parts...