Translators Unite: Translator Interview #4
Going in-depth with the translators of DLsite's "Translators Unite"!
This time we are interviewing "Bunny Teacher".
DLsite Staff: Firstly, could you tell us a little about yourself?
Bunny Teacheri: Hello! I'm in my twenties now and working as a freelance translator.
DLsite Staff: Wow! So grateful to meet a professional in person! What are your hobbies?
Bunny Teacher: I love gaming. In my last career, I was involved in game development! I also watch anime, read manga, and listen to some audio works. Mainly, I enjoy playing Otome games.
DLsite Staff: Do you play Otome games in both languages, Japanese and Chinese?
Bunny Teacher: Since I worked with Chinese localization for my previous job, I played many Chinese and Otome smartphone games. Though lately, I haven't been playing smartphone games and have been playing more Japanese games instead!
DLsite Staff: You mentioned being involved with game development earlier. What kinds of areas were you responsible for?
Bunny Teacher: System Planning.
DLsite Staff: I see! It sounds like it's not really related to translation; is that correct?
Bunny Teacher: Exactly. Well, in my case, I doubt my superiors would favor me because I usually take time and am picky about my translation. I bet it would be a hassle for me to work as a translator at a firm...
DLsite Staff: You must be very diligent!
Bunny Teacher: I really take my time with it because I want to polish my translations as perfectly as possible. I majored in Japanese at my university, so I was able to first work with Japanese-related tasks such as translating business documents and scripts for a game company. However, I was struggling with word choices, and it just wasn't efficient for me. Since I was also interested in system designing, I then decided to pursue the system planning career route.
I'm always impressed by how some translators translate "Translators Unite" works extremely fast! I'm sure that many other translators also work during the day and translate at night, but they can finish a work in a day. I work as a freelancer, but even if I aim to finish in one day, it usually takes me 2~3 days to finish a work...
DLsite Staff: I see that you value the quality of the translation. What was your reason for majoring in Japanese? Have you studied Japanese before entering the university?
Bunny Teacher: I actually started studying Japanese in middle school. My school had Japanese, Russian, German, and French classes, to which we were assigned based on our entrance exam scores. I was assigned to the Japanese class, and I submitted a form that I accidentally checked on the "I agree to enroll in the assigned class" section. Before then, I had no knowledge of Japanese!
The first year of learning a new language was tough, but I was influenced by my classmates and got into watching anime. From then on, I started to enjoy learning the language, and my grades also went up!
DLsite Staff: Wow, that's so interesting! It feels like it was destined to happen! So, when did you encounter DLsite?
Bunny Teacher: I think last-last-year? The first game I bought was "Club Suicide". I was intrigued by the unique concept of this game and decided to register to DLsite. I haven't finished it yet though (laughs).
DLsite Staff: Right! DLsite has the Chinese version of "Club Suicide"!
DLsite Staff: When did you find out about "Translators Unite"?
Bunny Teacher: I think around December of 2021? I was looking through commercial mangas when I found "Translators Unite". I registered, thinking it'd be nice to translate my favorite works!
But once I tried to start, I realized that many of my favorite works weren't eligible for translating, so I didn't do anything with them for a while.
DLsite Staff: Yeah...We did only have a few works eligible for translating at the beginning of the service. When was it that you restarted being active as a "Translators Unite" translator?
Bunny Teacher: November last year! My translator friends encouraged me to check out DLsite once again, and I found my previously purchased product getting permitted for translation. So, I started with that work. This reminded me of how joyful translating my favorite work was and led me to translate more works.
DLsite Staff: We are delighted to hear that! What was your favorite work that you have translated?
Bunny Teacher: My favorite is the "Secret OZclub" audio series!
I have translated ASMR content for all ages before, but its script was included. This was my first time translating by ear without a script.
Initially, I wasn't confident in my listening and translation skills, so I transcribed all the Japanese lines from the original audio and created a script myself. However, as I improved, I became able to translate while listening.
Since it was my first time translating a TL audio work, I have a special attachment to each chapter. Especially, Track 02 and 03 are my favorites!
DLsite Staff: That's really intriguing! By the way, who was the voice actor?
Bunny Teacher: It's Koutei! Koutei perfectly matches the style of the protagonist.
DLsite Staff: Sounds like everyone should definitely check it out! Do you have any criteria when choosing works to translate?
Bunny Teacher: Well, it's mainly about whether I like the works of the author or circle. For instance, for the "Secret OZclub" series I mentioned earlier, after translating the second work of the series, I liked it so much that I bought the other three works and translated all of them (laughs).
I really like pure love stories. Forced or confinement themes are nice too, but a happy ending is what I prefer in the end.
I don't want to feel down or uncomfortable after listening, so I make sure to choose works that leave me with a happy feeling after translating them.
DLsite Staff: Among the manga works you've translated, are there any memorable moments?
Bunny Teacher: I'm fond of priest-themed manga, and there was a work I read on DLsite in November last year. You couldn't tell from the cover, but it was a mutual pining story. I liked it a lot that I decided to translate it. After that, I purchased another work by the same author, and it was another mutual pining story. I thought, "This author really likes mutual pining." Then, when I bought another work, it turned out to have a forced confinement theme, and I was surprised by the contrast from their previous works!
Also, there was another manga work that had a lot of background dialogue, and fitting the translated texts naturally was very challenging. But when I saw the final product, I was so satisfied with my accomplishment!
DLsite Staff: You've worked really hard on the translations! Have you received any feedback from international users after translating?
Bunny Teacher: Definitely! There was one for an audio work voiced by Koutei. I got a comment from a traditional Chinese user saying that he's a "kiss monster" and I thought, "Wow...What a perfect nickname!"
Going back to the priest-themed mangas I mentioned earlier, I was a big fan of them, so I translated them into simplified and traditional Chinese. Later, I received feedback from a traditional Chinese user saying, "Thank you for the translation! I've discovered a great work." I was filled with joy!
Most simplified Chinese users can understand traditional Chinese, but I realized that only a few traditional Chinese users understand simplified Chinese... So whether it's manga or audio works, if it's yet to be translated into traditional Chinese, I always make sure to translate it in both languages.
Though, I usually use simplified Chinese, so it's quite challenging to pass the screening when I translate it into traditional Chinese. But if I can bring my favorite works to be enjoyed by many other users, it's worth the effort!
DLsite Staff: Bunny Teacher, your efforts are truly wonderful and greatly appreciated! Finally, could you please share a few words about "Translators Unite" or a message for our users?
Bunny Teacher: I hope that "Translators Unite" will keep delivering more and more great works to various users across different languages and countries!
And to all the users out there, I hope you can discover wonderful works through DLsite in 2023, and have joyful times ahead!
DLsite Staff: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us today! Make sure you check out Bunny Teacher's newly translated works!
For any potential translators out there interested in partaking in "Translators Unite", you can find more details about the service below! You can also check what works are available for translation now!
↑Available languages: Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean.
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