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TakaJun

TakaJun
Yandere Translations

Aaeru

Foreword TakaJun is the founder of Yandere Translations. Some projects he has worked on: Brass Restoration, Sengoku Rance, Swan song, Wanko to Kurasou. Probably one of the older hands in the field of fan translations, well known for his steady progress and a team of helpful staff. He is quite a friendly guy.

Interesting Tidbits
<TakaJun> I want to kill myself for putting my real name in the games when I first started playing eroge

TakaJun Contact Details

http://yandere.gray7.com/

“You can contact us on our IRC channel: #wankotl on irc.irchighway.net”

The Interview

TakaJun

1. How did you discover eroge?
<TakaJun>I discovered eroge when I saw an ad for To Heart on a magazine. I fell in love with it, looked for information on it, and got dragged into eroge hell
<TakaJun> or you can go back further and say tokimemo for SNES
<TakaJun> …I had to wait for things like Air and FSN to come out

<Aaerul> how did you buy your games back in the days?
<TakaJun> friends
<TakaJun> and the stores werent that fussy on checking age
<TakaJun> I think I was able to buy them at stores around 16
<TakaJun> I never once got asked if I was too young


<Aaerul> apart from To Heart, what are some eroge/visual novel you consider ‘classics’

<TakaJun> Kanon, Air, Yu-no, Kizuato, ONE, Kichikuou Rance, Toraha series, Flutter of birds, Green Green series

2. Can you tell us a little bit about your history at Mirrormoon and why you created Yandere Translations?
<TakaJun>I approached mm when I decided that I wanted to translate eroges. I didn’t know how to hack or do anything except translate, so I approached them to help (they were one of the scarce eroge translating groups around back then)
<TakaJun> I helped a bit with Tsukihime, then went and translated all of FSN. I also worked on non TM games like Farland, MAW2, Windom
<TakaJun> lets see… after some games, I decided I want more control over projects
<TakaJun> I didn’t want to do rigorous editing, and I wanted to be more open. So people feel fine to come and ask whatever they wanted
<Aaerul> so a more laid-back translation process
<TakaJun> yeah
<TakaJun> Anyway, starting yandere wasn’t possible w/o help from many people
<TakaJun> still receiving the help ^^;
<TakaJun> like zalas and ArchDemon (who were also with mirrormoon)


3. How do you pick what to translate?
<TakaJun> I pick games to translate on 2 things: What I want, and what kind of games the public wants
<TakaJun> at least, this is my stance since forming yandere
TakaJun> I try to see what kind of games people want, then decide what to TL by seeing which game I like has what the public wants
<TakaJun> I also try to diversify the games I TL
<TakaJun> from comedy to action to serious drama
<TakaJun> from no gameplay to almost all gameplay
<TakaJun> which kinda ties into the reason why I translate, which is to promote eroge, but more on that later
<TakaJun> in a poll I had, people wanted action, comedy, moe, and gameplay, I think
<TakaJun> Majikoi had three out of the four (-gameplay) and I liked it, so that’s how I chose it [http://yandere.gray7.com/?p=599] <TakaJun> so I didnt have a problem choosing a game not many people knew
<TakaJun> I dont like asking for specific titles to TL because, quoting that post
<TakaJun> “I see the poll as a mere popularity contest of the synopsis or OP video… My assumption is that people who vote haven’t played the games, so people don’t know if a game is really good or not (I mean, if they can read it to know the games are good, why ask for a translation in the first place?). I’m sure there are such people out there, but that’s probably a small minority.

4. You seem to take your Imouto chara very seriously. What is it you find in an Imouto chara that appeals to you the most? Do they have to be a certain type?
<TakaJun> I just love imouto characters because they are moe (don’t think, feel). They don’t have to be a certain type, and all imoutos are equally loveable.
<TakaJun> If I have to pick a fav… it’ll be Asagiri Mai (Keyorina)
<Aaerul> what about Yosuga no Sora’s?
<TakaJun> that’s more a twin, but she’s good too
<TakaJun> but too tsun to be my fav


5. Can you explain to me why Triangle Heart 3 is so awesome? Are you a Nanoha fan?
<TakaJun> First, I’ll say that I’m not a nanoha fan
<TakaJun> saw a few eps of the first season and never finished it
<TakaJun> Toraha3 is so awesome because it’s like an eroge that was custom-made for me
<TakaJun> it had pretty much everything I liked.
<TakaJun> and it prefectly did what I love-slice of life
<TakaJun> The world and the characters are so warm that you want to stay in there forever
<TakaJun> that’s why I play it from time to time to return to that “atmosphere”
<Aaerul> but you hit on an interesting point
<Aaerul> you play visual novels for pretty much the same reason as me
<Aaerul> I like the atmosphere of being around loving people

<Aaerul> What do you consider good slice-of-life
<TakaJun> well, you have to do it right, or it gets really boring
<TakaJun> I think it all depends on the writer
<TakaJun> too much description kills it (FSN) but too less of it kills it too because things go by too fast (Shuffle)
<TakaJun> also, I think lots of people find it boring because that’s not what they look for in a eroge
<TakaJun> so they only see slice of life as unnecessary scenes they need to bear through to get to the action/drama/ero


6. Is Majikoi comparable to Little Busters? Which game did you find the funnier?
<TakaJun> Hahaha, there’s so much similar things between the two games. I can’t say anything if people want to call Majikoi a ripoff of LB
<TakaJun> but personally, I found the comedy in Majikoi to be better
<TakaJun> a group of friends, lots of comedy, animal-like ponytail girl, guy friend who loves muscle, etc…
<TakaJun> yeah, try playing the prologue. that’s pretty much how the whole game is

7. How much do you value immersion in an eroge?
<TakaJun> There is absolutely no immersion for me in eroge. It’s more like watching a movie for me
<TakaJun> so, no. No voicing out loud
<TakaJun> a lot of the games nowadays have specific name for the protag
<TakaJun> instead of being able to name him
<TakaJun> and a lot of them have strong personalities
<TakaJun> I want to kill myself for putting my real name in the games when I first started playing eroge

8. What is your motivation for translating?
<TakaJun> My motivation comes from my love of eroge and my desire to promote eroge to the english community

<Aaerul> btw why is your nickname TakaJun?
<TakaJun> Jun is Kitagawa (kanon)’s first name
<TakaJun> Taka is a composer in beatmania
<TakaJun> add them together.
<TakaJun> I’ve also been told later that it can also stand for Takayashiki Jun (Kazoku keikaku)

<TakaJun> anyone’s welcome to come and ask me anytime about anything even if something’s not on the interview


Thank you TakaJun for your time. You can check out the Prologue Patch for Majikoi which is now available for download on their website, http://yandere.gray7.com/?p=1120

Tay

I'm the Fuwanovel community admin and a big fan of Visual Novels. The easiest way to get a hold of me is via a PM on the Fuwanovel Forums, by twitter (@ArchmageTay), or by email.

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DrmChsr0
13 years ago

Oh TakaJun.

Never Change.

ETERNAL
13 years ago

My my, I didn’t know TakaJun was a Beatmania IIDX fan. Respect +1.

Anonymous
Anonymous
13 years ago

I would love to work with translating with this guy once I finish my BA in Japanese. lol(moe+loli = +1 respect)

unkind
unkind
13 years ago

great interview great guy

Eab1990
Eab1990
13 years ago

>Favorite imouto
>Asagiri Mai

+5 respect points. Good choice, as Mai Goto imoutos are win. I vaguely prefer Kohinata Sumomo over her though.

Anonymous
Anonymous
13 years ago

takajun is just too awesome

yudha
yudha
11 years ago

takajun, i cant access “http://yandere.gray7.com/” it looks like the site had been blocked by google. where else can i get the latest english patch for Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai!. i want to know what will you do about yandere site or will you make another new site?

Rinkashime (Mark)
10 years ago

Why is “majikoi” cancelled?

Trashy
Trashy
5 years ago

Honestly, thanks for your hard work TakaJun (and your team) without you I wouldn’t have discovered that masterpiece Sengoku Rance.
Btw Are the Yandere translation still alive ? I can’t find any information about them and the comments here seems pretty outdated…

Decay
Reply to  Trashy
5 years ago

Takajun stopped translating several years ago and yandere translations is dead as well.