Orange is distributing the translations through an app called Emaqi (a play on the ancient Japanese picture scroll “emaki”, which is considered the precursor to manga). I would also like to become a translator for hire for a US publisher.
But Orange hasn’t been welcomed by all fans in the United States. When the work appeared at Anime NYC, an American anime convention, this summer, Japanese-English translator Jean Mitsuko Cash tweeted: In the industry. If you agree, please encourage @animenyc to ban AI companies from exhibiting or hosting panels. ”
Brienza has a similar view. “Cultural industry jobs that involve translation, which ultimately involve translating human intent rather than just words on a page, can be poorly paid and precarious,” she says. “With winds like this blowing, you can only feel sorry for the people who can make so little money.”
Some have accused Orange of cutting corners. Another fan tweeted, “This manga uses stylized text to express (the main character’s) inexpressible inner thoughts.” “But Orange didn’t pay redrawers or letterers to reproduce it properly, and they just skipped some text entirely.”
Emaki
Kuroda says everyone at Orange understands that manga translation is a sensitive issue. “We believe that human creativity is absolutely irreplaceable, which is why all AI-assisted work is rigorously reviewed, refined and finalized by multiple teams.”
Orange also claims that the authors it has translated agree with its approach. “I’m really satisfied with the result of the English version,” said Kenji Yajima, one of the authors with whom Mr. Orange collaborated, referring to the company’s translation of Mr. Orange’s title “The Cat Prince: A Salaryman Reincarnated as a Kitten!” While talking (see image). “As a manga artist, seeing my work shared in other languages is an opportunity to connect with readers I never imagined before.”