Foreword Ixrec is the sole-translator and the very young Head of Amaterasu (http://amaterasu.is.moelicious.be/forums/index.php?action=profile;u=3). He has completed many projects, Cross†Channel, Sekien no Inganock, Muv-Luv Extra, Muv-Luv Unlimited and his current project, Muv-Luv Alternative. His style has been described by his colleagues as ‘intolerable-of-adaptation’ and several have spoken about his hard-to-work-with nature. Yet the man gets things done and he does a truck-ton of it. I hope you enjoy reading what Ixrec has to say as much as I enjoyed doing the interview.
Interesting Tidbits <Ixrec> without me, there is no Ammy
<Aaerul> ok. Amaterasu is probably the single most well-known translation group on the internet. <Aaerul> how did the group make its start? Whose idea was it to form the group
<Ixrec> after I finished working on MOON. (for the most part that was just me) I decided I wanted to work on Cross Channel
<Ixrec> and posted that I’d like people (editors, hackers) to help me with it
<Ixrec> most of the people that joined were all very good at their job, and have stuck around since then
<Ixrec> we decided to call it an actual group right around when CC started
<Aaerul> 2nd question: what is your view on quality vs efficiency. One the one extreme end, there is Moogy who advocates one translator + one QC.
<Aaerul> On the other end, there are groups that believe it is worth it to sacrifice some quality to get a faster product out <Ixrec> it’s not really a linear scale
<Ixrec> yes I would say absolutely nothing should be translated by more than one translator
<Ixrec> exceptions are permissible only because truly dedicated translators are so rare there’s not much of a choice
<Aaerul> so you were the sole translator for all of the other previous projects?
<Ixrec> all four games I’ve translated were entirely done by me, yes
<Aaerul> wow… does anyone ever tell you you are a machine?
<Ixrec> often
<Ixrec> I take it as a compliment
<Ixrec> the closest I’ve ever come to having a 2nd tler is makoto translation checking my work on MuvLuv Unlimited (and soon Alternative)
<Aaerul> 3rd question: What was your first VN? What are some of your favourites you’ve played since then that you regard as ‘classics’?
<Ixrec> my first VN was Shuffle!
<Ixrec> second was Chaos;Head
<Ixrec> third was Fate/Stay Night
<Ixrec> kinda have to mention those two to avoid any weird ideas the first one introduces
<Ixrec> as for classics
<Ixrec> I’d say anything I rated 9 or higher on my blog http://amaterasu.is.moelicious.be/blog/?page_id=293
<Ixrec> so CC, YUNO, Forest, MLA, Sharin, Swan Song, GSM, E17, Inganock, C;H and FSN <Aaerul> 4th question: For a person who has never played a visual novel before in their lives. How would you convince them to try it out (or not try it out?)
<Ixrec> I don’t have a good answer for this one, lol
<Ixrec> if they didn’t sound interested by visual novels just from hearing what they are, I probably wouldn’t try
<Ixrec> (many people are at least intrigued by this so that’s not pessimistic or anything)
<Ixrec> if they asked to try one I’d probably link Narcissu since it’s uber short and doesn’t require any torrents/locale to get running
<Aaerul> I’m a bit concerned that right now there isn’t really any entry-drugs for new VN players.
<Ixrec> I think we have about as many of those as we’re going to get
<Ixrec> a lot of people are turned off by sheer volume of text and other things compared to most mediums
<Aaerul> sorry this is not an official question but, do you think Mangagamer is still worth supporting?
<Ixrec> personally, I don’t support any official companies since they usually don’t work on good games, and when they do the product is of questionable quality
<Ixrec> that, and as seen by recent events, official deals seem to go a lot less smoothly than fan translations
<Aaerul> so you played shuffle in japanese?
<Ixrec> I have never read a visual novel in English, unless you count the stuff I’ve translated <Aaerul> Last question: If you had to leave the reigns of TL of Amatarasu to somebody else, who would that somebody be? Name 3 potential candidates. Also, would you go pro if you were ever given the chance?
<Aaerul> TL specifically. not editor or QC, the TL
<Ixrec> I know of no such candidates
<Ixrec> the translators I know of who are as good or better than me have such vastly different methodologies (or have already left) that they don’t really count <Aaerul> what about people outside of your group.
<Ixrec> without me, there is no Ammy
<Ixrec> lol I’m talking too formal
<Ixrec> yes there is no one
<Ixrec> as for going pro
<Ixrec> it would depend heavily on the conditions
<Ixrec> but if it basically amounted to me getting paid for what I already do (fan translation of games I like) then I’d go for it in a heartbeat
…
(Regarding the quote “without me, there is no Ammy”, he explains) <Ixrec> as an example of why, the quote was something more or less stated verbatim by my staff members at one point in the past
<Ixrec> ?
<Ixrec> oh I mean they said “without Ixrec”
(Post-interview chat) <Aaerul> have you thought about translating steins;gate
<Ixrec> oh
<Ixrec> it has crossed my mind
<Ixrec> I definitely am going to read it at some point
<Aaerul> a game like that just cries out to be translated. it will slide well with the western audience
<Ixrec> if by then NO ONE has expressed interest in tling it, I’ll probably try to do it myself
<Ixrec> we’re talking at least a year’s time, so seriously someone should by then
<Ixrec> yeah, that is weird
… <Ixrec> though I think that’s more because standards rose recently so we started to scrutinize editors when we knew the tler was fine
<Spin569874123> hmm, I’ve never noticed the editing in all the old VNs I’ve read, but yea, I wouldn’t doubt that
<Ixrec> to repeat myself
<Ixrec> no one cared about clannad’s editing at the time
<Ixrec> just that a complete patch existed
<Aaerul> but you can’t blame them for that.
<Aaerul> for most people, for the casuals,
<Aaerul> that is all they need
<Aaerul> readable English
<Ixrec> no I cannot
<Ixrec> most tls are better than nothing
<Ixrec> but a dedicated tler can produce something of much better quality in far less time
… (In response to proper-permissions.org) <Ixrec> wait was this the proper permission guy? <Ixrec> well I’m tutoring people myself
<Ixrec> well yeah
<Ixrec> you can’t recruit/train motivated people
<Ixrec> can’t blame him for that one, (but) the idea is pretty unrealistic at best
Thanks you Ixrec for the interview. Please look forward to the next release in the Muv-Luv series, Muv-Luv Alternative.
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.
up till now, well, maybe I’ll say… Ixrec, you’re so cool.
ehem,
– first, you translate a quite number of good quality VN (for me Muv-Luv is the best, without your release, maybe I’ll never get to read this amazing masterpiece)
– second, I would say, Quality is the best, it is true that efficiency is faster but to enjoy something fully, you will need to see it in it’s best form. So I would say, one translator is enough, just my opinion though~
– third, big appreciation, for Amaterasu good job, especially you~ way to go~
The @key_official and @visualantena we all know and love have released the Full HD Edition of their short 2016 nakige Harmonia... with voice acting and more!
Guys, this game I heard a friend I trust talk very positively about is having a crowfund ending the 30th of April and if they get to 5000k yen they are planning to include an ENG localization as well, can we try and help make it come true? #otomearmada #otome #englishlocalization
up till now, well, maybe I’ll say… Ixrec, you’re so cool.
ehem,
– first, you translate a quite number of good quality VN (for me Muv-Luv is the best, without your release, maybe I’ll never get to read this amazing masterpiece)
– second, I would say, Quality is the best, it is true that efficiency is faster but to enjoy something fully, you will need to see it in it’s best form. So I would say, one translator is enough, just my opinion though~
– third, big appreciation, for Amaterasu good job, especially you~ way to go~