The Interview  Spin569874123 <Aaerul> How did you get started working in the fan translation scene as an editor? <Aaerul> you do mostly editing right? <Spin569874123> only editing <Spin569874123> I started working as an editor since I wanted to help the scene in any way I could <Spin569874123> but since I can’t tl, hack, or edit pics, editing was my only choice <Aaerul> what VNs did you play that made you commit to editing? <Aaerul> i mean, commit to the scene <Aaerul> what drew you into VNs ‘to the point’ that you want to help out <Spin569874123> well, I discovered VNs cause of anime <Spin569874123> I was a late bloomer for that, having only discovered it 4 years ago <Spin569874123> I was rushing into it trying to catch up, when I saw Kanon <Spin569874123> and Air <Spin569874123> those lead me to discover the projects, which led me to One <Spin569874123> (Kanon) …was great too <Spin569874123> I teared a little during the Makoto scene <Spin569874123> if it ended there, I would have been happy <Spin569874123> the Makoto Scene, refering to the one where she 1,1 disappears

<Aaerul> how come you juggle so many different projects at the same time? <Spin569874123> heh <Spin569874123> “how come” or “how can you?” <Aaerul> both <Spin569874123> for the first then, <Spin569874123> I was asked to join each and every one of those projects listed on my tlwiki page except for the Amaterasu Translations ones <Spin569874123> including Shirotesume <Spin569874123> personally asked* <Spin569874123> me being me, I can’t say “no” <Spin569874123> so that’s why I’m listed in so many <Spin569874123> regarding “how can I,” well… <Spin569874123> I am actually a busy person irl, so I can’t really handle them all at once <Spin569874123> luckily, a good portion aren’t as active as YU-NO or MuvLuv <Spin569874123> actually, I guess that’s unluckily, in the perspective of the VN reader <Aaerul> its probably a good idea to shed a few of the projects off <Aaerul> if you focus your work to one or two, you can get heaps done <Aaerul> and the other members can count on you more <Spin569874123> I would, but it’s unneeded at this point because like I said, half are kinda stalled/dead <Spin569874123> although, for a few, I can singlehandedly stall them if I choose(Yosuga no Sora to name one) <Spin569874123> Yes, I’m talking to you /jp/ [15:45] <Spin569874123> lol, just wanted to get that in 01[15:46] <Aaerul> you can stall them? [15:46] <Spin569874123> well, I’ll answer that real quick [15:46] <Spin569874123> yea, I can stall a few, like Yosuga, Princess Lover, 11eyes [15:46] <Spin569874123> Rewrite trial [15:46] <Spin569874123> all unlisted on my tlwiki page [15:47] <Spin569874123> well, lemme say it like this [15:48] <Spin569874123> with editing for those projects, the team/translator doesn’t feel like it’s good enough to be made public [15:48] <Spin569874123> without editing* [15:48] <Spin569874123> and since I’m the sole editor for those [15:48] <Spin569874123> basically, if I do nothing, I’m stalling it

01[15:49] <Aaerul> it’s strange how there are so few editors 01[15:49] <Aaerul> there could easily be so much more of them [15:49] <Spin569874123> yea, it really is ironic [15:49] <Spin569874123> there used ot be so few translators, and so many editors only last year [15:56] <Spin569874123> I personally believe that editing isn’t about TLCing and w/e, but just making the text flow right in English 01[15:56] <Aaerul> And have you ever been reprimanded for your editing work? [15:57] <Spin569874123> the only critique of my editing style is that I don’t change enough [15:58] <Spin569874123> I tend to trust the translators, like Ixrec and Phar, so I don’t feel that I should change every sentence or something [15:59] <Spin569874123> people complaing about over adaptation or not being “true” to the source all the time [15:59] <Spin569874123> so I feel like they should be happy [15:59] <Spin569874123> that I don’t overly edit or adapt that is [16:00] <Spin569874123> people are always complaining* 01[16:00] <Aaerul> as in, theyre complaining its not literal enough? 01[16:01] <Aaerul> they want the full on, raw thing 01[16:01] <Aaerul> the original japanese meaning as much as possible 
[16:01] <Spin569874123> yea, I see /jp/ complaining about that all the time [16:01] <Spin569874123> “This isn’t what the author wanted. This is just an adaptation of the story.” <Aaerul> now that you mention it <Aaerul> TLWiki is a LOT about making noble and worthy translations of japanese works <Aaerul> it does seem a bit nonsensical for us to be assuming the ‘will of the author’ when we are not even acknowledged legally 01[16:03] <Aaerul> like how Moogy given up on Subarashiki Hibi because 01[16:03] <Aaerul> he thought he won’t be able to do a good enough job to respect the maker [16:03] <Spin569874123> that’s bs [16:03] <Spin569874123> lol [16:04] <Spin569874123> he just didn’t have the balls [16:04] <Spin569874123> for lack of a better phrase
 01[16:05] <Aaerul> Can you say a word to the fans that want to help but don’t know where to help? [16:05] <Spin569874123> oh, that’s a perfect question for me [16:05] <Spin569874123> well, first, to all you fans out there [16:05] <Spin569874123> do NOT believe that you’re going to just join a project thinking that it’s easy and won’t take much time [16:06] <Spin569874123> it is rigorous and will tire you out very quickly [16:07] <Spin569874123> it may not be time consuming, but, it requires tenacity [16:07] <Spin569874123> you may be on a project for months [16:07] <Spin569874123> also, just a protip [16:08] <Spin569874123> it’s not quite as fun as you think, if you’re an editor anyway, because you won’t be reading the pristine text that comes out at the end [16:08] <Spin569874123> you’ll be getting the raw translation that may or may not be Engrishy [16:08] <Spin569874123> however, if you would still like to join the community after knowing this, I welcome you with open arms [16:09] <Spin569874123> to start, first, know what position you can do, as in editor, translator, image editor, or hacker 01[16:09] <Aaerul> and I want to add, there is a lot of demand for a good editor with very good english right now. because a lot of us translators are not perfectly fluent. 01[16:09] <Aaerul> so don’t think you will be useless. you will be a massive boon to those teams [16:09] <Spin569874123> yea, that’s very true
[16:10] <Spin569874123> being an editor this year onward is definitely harder than it was one or two years ago 01[16:10] <Aaerul> why so? [16:10] <Spin569874123> because now, we’re getting people interested in translating, even though they’re not native English speakers [16:10] <Spin569874123> like you said 01[16:11] <Aaerul> so you mean being an editor is easier than it was one/two years ago [16:11] <Spin569874123> also, because the community has grown so much, people are expecting quality releases instead of just *a* release [16:11] <Spin569874123> no, it’s harder because you either have great English, or you just won’t cut it 01[16:12] <Aaerul> but to me, I still feel like we’re getting a trickle of a release every now and then. 01[16:12] <Aaerul> rather than a flood of them 01[16:12] <Aaerul> yes great english is a must [16:12] <Spin569874123> well, if you look on vndb [16:12] <Spin569874123> half of the English tled VNs on there, were released in the last two years [16:12] <Spin569874123> more than that even, I think [16:12] <Spin569874123> that’s more in the last two years than the last 4+ years combined 01[16:14] <Aaerul> so it is actually ramping up. 01[16:14] <Aaerul> that’s pretty interesting [16:14] <Spin569874123> yea, the community is finally growing 
01[16:18] <Aaerul> is there anything else you want to say to the fans? [16:19] <Spin569874123> hmm [16:19] <Spin569874123> well, I didn’t get to finish the “how to join the community” thing I was saying [16:19] <Spin569874123> lol, I’ll just finish that now, and you can add that into the middle of that section 01[16:19] <Aaerul> ok [16:20] <Spin569874123> once you know what position you can, and want to do, go to tlwiki’s site [16:21] <Spin569874123> that’s a great spot to put your foot in the door because most “real” translation groups, already have their members, unless you get lucky like me and fine one that’s first forming [16:22] <Spin569874123> just start working on a project on tlwiki if you’re an editor, starting one if you’re a translator, or asking if they need help, if you’re a hacker/image editor [16:23] <Spin569874123> believe me, if you’re bad, you’ll be told so, and there’s nothing you can do but just improve by asking what’s wrong and why [16:23] <Spin569874123> if you’re good though, that’s great, so long as you have the drive and finish one project, you should be accepted into one of the “real” translation groups I mentioned above [16:24] <Spin569874123> not that I’m implying that tlwiki doesn’t have real translators and workers or anything [16:24] <Spin569874123> it’s just a different experience [16:25] <Spin569874123> but anyway, once you’re set on helping the community, just join the project you want, and most likely, you’ll be accepted [16:25] <Spin569874123> (end) Thanks for doing the interview Spin. Lots of rare info. |