The Grey Zone
Welcome to the Grey Zone!
Here, you will find information about the controversy of translations in fandoms, why I still do it, and how in doing so, it doesn't make me utter human trash (in other words, an info site on how to cover my own butt).
GROUND RULE: DO NOT ALTER OR REUPLOAD ANY IMAGES TO INCLUDE MY TRANSLATIONS!! (Unless you are the original artist. 日本作者以外)
Why Translations are in the Grey Area
I could make this short and sweet, but I started out as writer so let me ramble a little.
The Initial Motive
I had originally started translating for two reasons:
1) to help other people enjoy and better understand the artist's work
2) to help me learn and practice japanese.
In western culture, having your work translated into another language is almost always considered an honor. So, naturally, I was pumped! I was like damn, this is amazing, I get to perform some goodwill by helping others understand, and I also get to help myself ameliorate my japanese skills. I truly thought it was a win-win situation for everyone.
However, I didn't stop to fully consider the feelings of all artists. Some artists are honestly very happy to have their work translated.
But I recently realized some aren't.
For various reasons...
Why Translations are in the Grey Area
First and foremost is the no reproduction rule. Having a work translated, even in the comments, increases the risk of having someone else re-upload that art with the translations.
Reuploads are a huge issue because japanese fan-artist don't want to lose control of their works. Fandoms are honestly such a grey area to be in. Because no one really owns in entirety their piece. The characters we know and love and write and draw for aren't our own. We're breaking every copyright law just having our creation exist. Japanese fan-artists are painstakingly aware of this fact. So, if the original creators ever asked them to take down their work, they are willing to do so immediately. Having reuploads would make this process harder, if not impossible.
The second issue comes from foreign haters. BL, incest, minors, these are already very controversial topics. And having their work translated could exacerbate the hate japanese fan-artists receive.
Mistranslations can also cause a mountain of misunderstanding and negative feelings.
How I am attempting to get around these issues
Personally, I don't think translating in the comments counts as reproduction because I'm not changing the art itself in any way. It's only when someone takes those translations and physically adds them to the art that it counts as reproduction (hence my ground rule: no reuploading with translations). That's just my take on it, but I'm sure there are people out there who will disagree.
In terms of artists receiving hate, that happens with or without the translations.
In both cases, however, translations increases the risk. And that's why translations are in such a grey area, because some artists are willing to take that risk, and some aren't.
Regarding Permission
I admit, I didn't ask for permission to translate these works. It wasn't a thought that crossed my mind when I first started this. I didn't think I was breaking any rules, because I wasn't reuploading or republishing. But I knew, of course, I was increasing the risk.
I know asking for permission would solve any awkwardness of who wants their work translated and who doesn't. But in the same way all artists don't have permission to recreate, reimagine, or use the original manga artist's works, I am also not going to ask for permission. I am ready and willing to take down all translations, if prompted. I don't mean any disrespect in the same way fanartist don't mean to disrespect the original manga artist by recreating/reimagining their works.
I am not trying to hide the fact that I'm doing these translations from the artist. They are mentioned in every comment so they are aware of my actions. There are rule-abiding foreigners out there and I want to give them the chance to enjoy international art. But I will completely understand and respect the wishes of any japanese artists who disagree or are uncomfortable with this. I apologize in advance. I meant no disrespect.
The New Goal
My goal is to be able to enjoy fandoms together with like-minded people in the world in a respectful way. And I think keeping translations only in the comments is one way we can keep transparency and get around the no reupload rule. But again, I understand that it's a risk not every artist is willing to take.
Note to Artists
Artists, if you believe my translations are disrespectful or inconvenient in any way, please let me know. I am happy to take it down immediately. I apologize. I had no ill intentions.
However, due to the subjective nature of risk, please note I will not have third-party justice-seekers preaching to me about my actions being disrespectful. Unless the request comes from the artist themselves, I am not taking my translations down. Not everyone is narrow-minded. I wasn't going to make a Durarara reference, but I think it's appropriate: "Because the world isn't as bad as you think." And even if it is, I hope we can learn to navigate it together.
I am open to respectful discussion from all parties if I'm misunderstanding something. Cultural differences are something I wish to understand better.
[Now, if only I had the ability to translate all this into Japanese...]
About Me
[Above Image by @raidesart]
For those of you wondering, I am not native Japanese. I do not have relatives or friends who speak Japanese. I am however, Asian Canadian. I am not a professional translator, nor have I ever taken any Japanese language standardized tests. As a matter of fact I have taken a grand total of one Japanese language beginner course in my third year of university, which to date, remains one of the better decisions of my life.
Now to reveal how big of a weeb I am: I've been watching subbed animes since I was in grade 4.
At first, I was adamantly against the idea of subs. But then Gakuen Alice came out, and it didn't come dubbed, so I had no choice. 26 episodes was all it took. Either that or my gay crush on Romi Park. Whatever it was, I never went back to dubs ever again.
Anime has always been a form of escape for me. Not drugs, not shopping, not alcohol, anime. It was what I looked forward to at the end of the day. It still is. (Thinking about it now, I guess I could have chosen a worse obsession.)
So anyway, needless to say, I watch a lot of anime. Like a lot. So, much so, that I apparently can kind of translate now.
Kanji remains the hardest part, but hey, I'm still learning.
As to why I'm doing this:
It's a bit of a passion project.
I know what it's like to want to read and understand something so badly. I remember being a kid and seeing Japanese fan-art and even the smallest one letter hiragana words (like "お"), I wanted to know what it meant. Because I was just that obsessed. And I know what being obsessed feels like. Seeing our favourite pairings, it's the dumbest thing ever, because it's literally just some lines on a page, but it brightens up our day so much.
Learning a language isn't easy. It takes years of practice and even then, certain nuances are still lost.
So, I thought, okay, If there's something I can do that will help a community that's helped me more times than I can count, why don't I do it. So here I am. Doing it.
It's not always easy. As a matter of fact, it's actually quite time-consuming. Plus, sometimes things just don't translate well. But I love learning languages and I love being a part of fandoms, so I'll continue to do my best.
There will be haters. I know. I'm probably not prepared. But that's why I created this site. To teach to some, and to learn from some. If you're here, then our love for anime is probably the one thing we have in common. I hope we can understand each other.
Also, shameless plug, I kind of write, so come check out my AO3 below :)
こんにちは！
こんにちは!
勝手に翻訳して、すみませんでした。失礼なことしてお詫びします。本当に悪い意味じゃないです。気にいたないなら教えてください。すぐ消します。
逆に私の翻訳良ければ、どうぞ使ってください。
私は海外の方です。日本語はまだ勉強しています。
Thank you for your beautiful art! I love it a lot ❤️