The Interview

Minimoto

1.  It says on your website you do not take in new translators. Is this true?
Well, we don’t make an effort to say no. If somebody was willing to help, I wouldn’t turn them down. We don’t go looking for anybody though. Truth is this group was first created to display AMV(s) we made. Later we decided to do some manga scanlations and visual novel translations. We liked just two people because no deadlines or anything would come up. Whatever was done would be at our pace and wouldn’t impede on anybody else schedules.

2. Translator(s): Minimoto, Saber (Pending)
Who is Saber? Can you also introduce the other members of your team?
This was in a previous blog entry somewhere in the abyss but Saber was a friend of mine who said he was willing to help. And I knew that he knew some Japanese, I just wasn’t sure of his level. In the end he wasn’t good enough to help so we threw away that idea. I had thought I got rid of his name but it seems that I missed it. As for a team… I guess it’s me the translator, my cousin Ardour who doesn’t know Japanese but agreed to edit the text at the end to make sure I didn’t mess up my English somewhere, and Nagato who hacked the game for me. Nagato has been a tremendous help as he had to walk me through the process while holding my hand (I felt incredibly stupid as he was forced to explain to me in laymen terms). But thanks to him, I now can make patches!

3. “These lessons are known as Love-making Lessons, and students at Aikyō are required to take these classes on how to fall in love, and the ways of proper romance techniques.” (taken from vndb.org)
The premise for this game sounds awesome. What is one thing you like the most about this game?
In a recent Gemot post,

• “VNs were made based on Dating sims and love stories, and those genres are ironically now being forgotten”

was stated and to retaliate this point another person said,

• “No one really cares that much about dating sims. Yes, this is kind of a reiteration of my previous point, but here’s a different way to look at it: No one wants to translate hours and hours of generic* romance/sex and the demand for it isn’t too great either. Once again, kicks and fapping.”

Personally, I enjoy love stories with no such deep story like Snow Sakura for example. Though it’s true they aren’t at the same level as Fate/Stay Night or Ever17 but they aren’t supposed to be. They’re made to be enjoyed and as long as the game can make me feel that it’s worth the time I spent playing it, I like that. And Honey Coming takes the whole idea of a love sim and integrates it into the story. It may be generic but I don’t think that’s bad at all. I think the story is charming.

4. To my peers, your project appears to them like vapourware. That is to say, they think your project will never reach completion. In fact, they think that of the many many smaller and more remote projects such as yourself, none of them will ever see the light of day. Do you feel Honey Coming is under that same kind of danger?
Honestly, the possibility that Honey Coming will not reach completion is there. However, until I have a real reason to cease, such as health problems or something similar, I will continue to translate. Though I won’t lie and say I do it fast or furiously. I’m the lazy type who takes his time with whatever he does. But as of now, I don’t see any reason it won’t be finished in the future. Again, not saying near future.

5. Since 2008, there has been an explosion of visual novel translation projects appearing all over the net. What prompted you two to join the scene? On the blog you wrote, “Well. I bought this game. and thought I’d share it with others.”
How did you come to buy this game?
I joined the scene because I knew Japanese. The visual novel community is nowhere near as large as the manga scanlations or anime fan-subbing. And I really enjoyed visual novels after picking up my first copy of Ever17. So I simply thought that sharing is caring right? Didn’t Barney teach that to everyone?
As for how I got it; I was surfing the net looking for something to do. I came across Ever17 and some other games somewhere online. And being the bored soul I was, thought that I should buy some because the art looked nice. After playing Ever17, I went on a little spree and bought Fate/Stay Night, Honey Coming, Ishika & Honori, Pieces of Wonder, and Amusement Park. Though I did regret the purchase of two of those. I wish I could say I got all my visual novels legit but I can’t really. However, the ones that I did, I keep with me and hope to share.

6. If there is one thing you would change about the way you are working on Honey Coming right now, what would it be?
If there was one thing I would change, its my work ethic. Sometimes I open up the text files to work, then get sidetracked and end up closing them without even having worked. If I would change something, I’d be my laziness, though this is true for most things in my life and not just this project.

7. Please tell us anything you think I have missed. Do you want to say a word to the fans? Can you give us a progress report?
To the fans, this project isn’t dead. I’m slowly etching my way forward. As for the future of when this is done, whenever that may be, I will probably translate the rest of HC, as in the HC Royal Sweet. Since you can’t find many HC copies themselves to buy, I’m thinking of finishing up RS also so that people will be motivated to actually purchase it. Though I have to buy it first. And the fact that I have the first doesn’t really make me want to buy the next but later on I’ll most likely do it. As for progress, I’m still slowly moving up the common route. Number wise… it’d probably be about 20% done? Somewhere around there. Also, I’m still looking to start back up Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru, so if anyone can hack that for me, that’d be great! It’d make me work faster too, going back and forth when I tire of the other. It’s a really nice game and I think those who can’t speak/read Japanese would really enjoy it.

Thank you