I'm the official translator for the new Portuguese edition of the Dragon Ball manga!!

[jrdemr]

I have no idea how I managed to forget to post this news in here, but I suppose better late than never.

It is with unbridled joy that I hereby announce that I have been selected as the official Portuguese translator for manga publishing house Devir's new project: the one, the only DRAGON BALL



Translated from the original Japanese, a first for any Portuguese edition, and with the utmost attention to even the smallest details, this will be a release that I can be really proud of!

[Yuji]

I'm glad it's not another translation of a translation. Wish you the best!

The old ASA release was cancelled somewhere around volume 16, right? I hope sales are good. I'll be sure to pick up volume 1.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Congrats, and hopefully this sells well. I've heard the original Portuguese manga is rare, so will be nice for natives to have a new, more faithful option.

[jrdemr]

The old ASA release was cancelled somewhere around volume 16, right?

It was cancelled at Volume 18.

I hope sales are good. I'll be sure to pick up volume 1.

Thanks! If it sells well, they might be inclined to also bring over Super and other Toriyama works!

[Vegard Aune]

That's really cool!
Noticing the "Volume triplo" text up top on that image... Does that mean that these are three-in-ones? I mean I'm not Portuguese and don't know the language, just... that's what it looks like to me at least.

I imagine at this moment, if the books haven't started coming out yet, you don't have much you can say about them, but I'd be interested to hear more details as stuff comes out.

[demonontheleft]

Hey that's super cool! What's it like to work on an official translation? How much freedom do you get when you're working under a big company for this stuff?

[jrdemr]

That's really cool!
Noticing the "Volume triplo" text up top on that image... Does that mean that these are three-in-ones? I mean I'm not Portuguese and don't know the language, just... that's what it looks like to me at least.

Yeah, these are three-in-ones. I wanted to try to convince my editor to go with a simple tankoubon edition, but by the time I was told what the format of the edition would be like, it was already stipulated in the contract, and therefore, irreversible

My publishing house likes to go with this format for older, longer series, so that it doesn't take as long to come out and so that it is cheaper for people to collect them.

Well, at least the translation will be leagues and bounds better than the previous ones, if I do say so myself! Which isn't a very high bar, considering that the first one was indirectly and very poorly translated from the (admittedly good) Spanish version, and the second edition was translated indirectly from the Viz version.

I imagine at this moment, if the books haven't started coming out yet, you don't have much you can say about them, but I'd be interested to hear more details as stuff comes out.

They're coming out in November! And yes, of course I cannot say everything, but if anyone's curious to know more details, and it's...let's just say, "appropriate" for me to reveal them, feel free to ask!

Hey that's super cool! What's it like to work on an official translation? How much freedom do you get when you're working under a big company for this stuff?

Well, I certainly cannot do everything I want when I'm doing something commercially rather than just for fun as a fan, but thankfully, my editor's been very accommodating of my personal requests and we're frequently able to reach some sort of compromise. Even when something might not be spelled out the way I originally wanted, at least I get to include a translator's note saying what's the etymology behind a certain name, so at least people can see that I know and that I did my homework

[tinlunlau]

Congratulations on the translating gig! I am a translator myself but I am currently working with 88 Films on the eventual Blu-ray release of an undisclosed Hong Kong movie from the 80s. I actually got started doing translations for Jackie Chan back in 2005 with the Hong Kong DVD release of "The Myth" which is funny because the only reason I was able to learn how to read Chinese in the first place was due to Dragon Ball. Manga availability in North America was scarce back in the early 1990's so my only outlet for reading Dragon Ball was through the Hong Kong Chinese translated editions of the manga and Cantonese dubs of the movies. I would dabble into getting the Taiwanese editions but only when stores in Toronto were out of stock for the Hong Kong release.

And from translator to translator, never lose the context. Context is key. No A.I. can replicate that.

[Luso Saiyan]

Congrats. Will this be the Kanzenban version? And do you have any mandate to use certain names and terminology from Shueisha?

[FortuneSSJ]

Years ago in a convention I asked Devir when they would get Dragon Ball and they said it was troublesome. I'm glad they did it.

Congratulations once again. I'm assured the translation will be good

[sangofe]

I have no idea how I managed to forget to post this news in here, but I suppose better late than never.

It is with unbridled joy that I hereby announce that I have been selected as the official Portuguese translator for manga publishing house Devir's new project: the one, the only DRAGON BALL



Translated from the original Japanese, a first for any Portuguese edition, and with the utmost attention to even the smallest details, this will be a release that I can be really proud of!

Cool. We also have other official translators for Dragon Ball products on this board .

[omegalucas]

Congratz again Zé. Really looking forward to this release, I know it's in great hands. Just hoping there's no higher-up mandate for PT dubbisms or Funi/ViZ-isms, that's the only thing that could bring the quality down. But that doesn't seem to be the Devir way at least.

And yeah you *were* forgetting posting about it, I came here looking for a discussion thread when you posted the news on Twitter lol

[jrdemr]

Congrats. Will this be the Kanzenban version?

No. It's essentially everything that's in the Japanese tankoubon, just in a 3-in-1 format.

And do you have any mandate to use certain names and terminology from Shueisha?

No. I cannot go into much detail on this particular topic (which is a question I would ask myself if I were in your shoes), but I can say that I received no such mandate from Shueisha. That said, I also did not have free reign to use whichever spellings I wished. Working for a for-profit company is very different from just doing things as a fan, where you can do things however you please. There are a lot of people involved and sometimes, you have to reach a compromise. And while it won't be 100% what I wished for, it will be in the 98-99% range, and most, if not every term will be accompanied by a translator's note, explaining the origin and etymology of each name.

Congratz again Zé. Really looking forward to this release, I know it's in great hands. Just hoping there's no higher-up mandate for PT dubbisms or Funi/ViZ-isms, that's the only thing that could bring the quality down. But that doesn't seem to be the Devir way at least.

This is a for-profit company, so we cannot go full Kanzenshuu and use fan nomenclature, but we do have a great team working to make sure the names stay as correct as viably possible

And yeah you *were* forgetting posting about it, I came here looking for a discussion thread when you posted the news on Twitter lol

...sorry

[Luso Saiyan]

No. I cannot go into much detail on this particular topic (which is a question I would ask myself if I were in your shoes), but I can say that I received no such mandate from Shueisha. That said, I also did not have free reign to use whichever spellings I wished. Working for a for-profit company is very different from just doing things as a fan, where you can do things however you please. There are a lot of people involved and sometimes, you have to reach a compromise. And while it won't be 100% what I wished for, it will be in the 98-99% range, and most, if not every term will be accompanied by a translator's note, explaining the origin and etymology of each name.

I see. I was mostly referring to character names and races, but I can understand from a marketing standpoint that you would be forced to use more recognizable names like "Tartaruga Genial", etc. I never bought the ASA volumes, so I don't know how they translated stuff like Saiyajins (it would be nice to get something akin to "Saiyanos", but I know it won't happen).

I'll try to buy this one all the way through. Being a 3-in-1 edition, t's unfortunate that it's not the Kanzenban version, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

[omegalucas]

No. I cannot go into much detail on this particular topic (which is a question I would ask myself if I were in your shoes), but I can say that I received no such mandate from Shueisha. That said, I also did not have free reign to use whichever spellings I wished. Working for a for-profit company is very different from just doing things as a fan, where you can do things however you please. There are a lot of people involved and sometimes, you have to reach a compromise. And while it won't be 100% what I wished for, it will be in the 98-99% range, and most, if not every term will be accompanied by a translator's note, explaining the origin and etymology of each name.

I see. I was mostly referring to character names and races, but I can understand from a marketing standpoint that you would be forced to use more recognizable names like "Tartaruga Genial", etc. I never bought the ASA volumes, so I don't know how they translated stuff like Saiyajins (it would be nice to get something akin to "Saiyanos", but I know it won't happen).

I'll try to buy this one all the way through. Being a 3-in-1 edition, t's unfortunate that it's not the Kanzenban version, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

ASA used both Saiyans and Saiyanjins (with an N in the middle, yeah, not a typo). I'd be happy with Saiyanos (curiously was what DeAgostini used back in the day iirc) too.

ASA also used Tartaruga Genial interchangeably with Kame-sen'nin and Muten Rōshi.

[jrdemr]

I see. I was mostly referring to character names and races, but I can understand from a marketing standpoint that you would be forced to use more recognizable names like "Tartaruga Genial", etc. I never bought the ASA volumes, so I don't know how they translated stuff like Saiyajins (it would be nice to get something akin to "Saiyanos", but I know it won't happen).

I never said anything about "being forced" to use any specific names. I might not have been able to go as far as I originally wanted to (which some people might fairly consider was actually "too far"), but like I said, we do have a great team working together to make sure the names stay as correct as viably possible.

Again, I cannot go into too much detail, but let's just say I think you'll all be pleasantly surprised

I'll try to buy this one all the way through. Being a 3-in-1 edition, t's unfortunate that it's not the Kanzenban version, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

I appreciate it. I'm doing my best to bring the Portuguese fanbase a translation they (and I) can be proud of. And speaking in a personal capacity (I am NOT representing my publishing house in any way when I say this), sales are the only thing that will motivate Devir to continuing the series with Dragon Ball Super and perhaps even other Toriyama works, like Jaco, Neko Majin, Yamcha and Dr. Slump.

Who knows, we might even get the Kanzenban or the Full Colors later down the line if these sell well enough! If it happened with Death Note...


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One more thing:

I'm curious to see what you all think. Would you rather have more "traditional" spellings that you're all used to? Or would you rather have new spellings that more accurately reflect Toriyama's intended source pun, like it is done here on Kanzenshuu, with its unique style guide?

(I think this example should be pretty safe since it's so far ahead in the story)

For instance, would you prefer the more "traditional" "Babidi" spelling, or would you rather have "Bobbidi", which is more faithful to the intended source of the name (the incantation spoken by the fairy godmother in the 1950 Cinderella movie)?

(Again, I am speaking in a PERSONAL capacity here. I am NOT making any promises or declarations whatsoever. I do NOT have final say. I genuinely just want to hear what you all think.)


And what do you think of the Portuguese dub terms? Do you think they should be preserved, since it's what we're all used to here in Portugal? Or would you rather they all go the way of the Dodo and die a gruesome, fiery death?

(Again, I am NOT saying this is what is going to be used in my new translation. If you want to know what I think, I would definitely vote for "gruesome, fiery death". Genuinely just want to know what you think.)

[Luso Saiyan]

Yeah, feel free to hakai the portuguese dub terms. I don't mind "Tartaruga Genial", because it's relatively close to conveying the same idea, but I'd rather have "Eremita Tartaruga" or something...

As far as the spelling goes, I think in that "Babidi"/"Bobbidi" example I'm indifferent. By default, I'd go with being faithful, but if the traditional spelling is similar enough (phonetically speaking) then I don't mind it.

[omegalucas]

Yeah, feel free to hakai the portuguese dub terms. I don't mind "Tartaruga Genial", because it's relatively close to conveying the same idea, but I'd rather have "Eremita Tartaruga" or something...

As far as the spelling goes, I think in that "Babidi"/"Bobbidi" example I'm indifferent. By default, I'd go with being faithful, but if the traditional spelling is similar enough (phonetically speaking) then I don't mind it.

Same here. Send "Coraçãozinho de Satã", "Hércules", etc to the HFIL. Stuff that works could be kept imo if it's close enough but I aside from "Tartaruga Genial" I can't remember many that do.

Bobbidi/Babidi both work for me, as long as the second has a translation note explaining where it comes from. Actually, considering how many Dragon Ball names are puns, I wonder if making a etimology glossary at the end like the Kenshin volumes could be an approach, leaving translation notes on the page for actual dialogue notes.

[jrdemr]

Bobbidi/Babidi both work for me, as long as the second has a translation note explaining where it comes from.

As stated before, expect translation notes for nearly every name in the series
I was actually given near full freedom by my editor to write them.

[Luso Saiyan]

Actually, considering how many Dragon Ball names are puns, I wonder if making a etimology glossary at the end like the Kenshin volumes could be an approach, leaving translation notes on the page for actual dialogue notes.

That's a great idea.