August and September Schedules

I'm pretty sure that this schedule is too optimistic and will be off by a week or two.

Update: Oops, PS volume 39 only goes up to chapter 430.

Donations

I've received $135 over the past few weeks. I want to thank everyone who donated very much. Together with the cancellation of good! Afternoon and Kindai Mahjong, I think the next year or two will be very stable.

I just changed the donation system slightly. Previously, I had a goal system, but I think that that suggests that I want donators to cover all costs, which is not what I want. Therefore, I got rid of it.

Auctions

Soon.

Pokemon Special BW

I just realized that our current "contract" has a problem: what if I forget to update everyone? For example, did you know that the current balance is -$6.48? I didn't either, until I did the math this morning. Anyways, I'm putting a new clause (just because I can, but it isn't bad for you anyways): "The deadline is seven days after I release the scanlated chapter that broke the -$20.00 limit." That means that the current deadline is seven days after I release chapter 11, should there be no donations before then. Fair enough?

Please read: A personal appeal from /a/nonymous scanlations

Ladies and gentlemen, it's no secret that scanlation isn't profitable. In fact, most of the scanlation community probably prefers it to stay that way. I for one have already given up hope on staying keeping the costs as low as possible, because I keep picking up manga that I have to import (it can't be helped). Here's a look at the estimated costs:

• Mudazumo:
  $15 / two weeks - Kindai Mahjong Issues
  $15 / six months - Volumes
  $420 / year
  
  
• 7o3x:
  $19 / month - Young Ace Issues (depending on vendor)
  $15 / four months - Volumes
  $273 / year
  
  
• Nanika:
  $40 / two months - good! Afternoon Issues
  $15 / year? - Volumes
  $255 / year
  
  
• Pokemon Special (volumes only):
  $15 / three months - Volumes
  $60 / year
  
  
• Arpeggio of Blue Steel:
  (~$40 - Volumes 1-3)
  $15 / four months - Volumes (4+)
  $45 / year
  
  
• Noririn:
  $15 / six months - Volumes
  $30 / year
  
  
• Ryuushika Ryuushika:
  $15 / year - Volumes
  $15 / year
  
  
• Kindaichi:
  No cost right now, but I'm considering importing volumes for future cases, since the scans aren't very good
  
  
• Kazumi:
  No cost
  
  
• Kaibutsu Oujo:
  No cost
  

The total comes out to be $1068 per year. My savings has pretty much stagnated over the last year and is beginning to decline. While it isn't anywhere near zero as of this writing, I would appreciate any support, no matter how small.

(Note: Pokemon Special BW has a special account on its own. If you're donating for BW, make sure to tell me somehow)

I have mentioned on /a/ in June about how I have a surplus of Eva figures that come with the Young Ace issues, and some people have expressed interest. I'll definitely auction them off in a few weeks.

February 2011: Misc.

I feel like I need to address some things now.

Donations

I'm very happy that donations are this far ahead, and hope that they keep coming in. One note I would like to make is about Pokemon Special donations. Pokemon Special donations can go towards buying volumes or Shogaku Yonensei issues. I advise all donors to be specific about where the donations should be distributed. I am greedy and will prioritize using donations for volumes rather than Shogaku Yonensei.

Raws

I will usually distribute all raws that I scan. Because of size and bandwidth restrictions (no, I will not make torrents for raws), I can only distribute 1600p (~220 dpi for volumes, ~160 for magazines) for some of them. If you want higher quality raws, contact me, and give me the desired resolution (350 dpi max) and the specific range of pages. My e-mail address is written near the top of the page towards the right.

Derivative Manga: PSG and Fractale

I translate a few chapters of series like Panty & Stocking and Fractale in order to get an idea of what the series is like. In case you're still being trolled by Sankaku (well, it's entirely possible that it wasn't a troll, given that it's Sankaku), Fractale is an original anime whose manga happened to have started its serialization first. Hence, I wanted to see what both series were like and have no intentions of continuing.

I also had no intention of making this to be an issue, but apparently some people still being trolled by Sankaku and Spanish fansubbing groups who were usually my translations don't want me to stop. Hence, I will spell my policy out here, as I had for a gazillion times.

In order for me to consider a derivative manga, it needs to have fulfilled one of the following:

1. No one is translating the original work. If you can't find English fansubbers doing Fractale, then you're just plain blind. Also, Funimation seems to have "worked out" their issues.
   
2. The plot has to deviate significantly. The standard is set at the Eureka Seven manga. Note that I consider plot, not character design, art style, etc.

If it has fulfilled one of these two, then it's added to my long list of manga that I want to scanlate. Let me tell you: I have tons of other series that I want to scanlate.

I do this in order to save my precious time and effort. I would rather translate new stuff that I enjoy translating for no readers rather than old stuff for incompetent fansubbing groups and the few people who still go to Sankaku for news.

Since the novel isn't translated, I wanted to pick up Moshidora's manga adaptation for Spring, but I don't want to have to import a biweekly (Super Jump). Madoka's manga adaptation has a decent chance of fulfilling part 2.

Dependent Groups

I do believe in open source (the ideology, not the shitty software). Hence, I upload pretty much all of my sources to save time effort in typesetting and cleaning for other groups who wish to use my releases, because they would just edit my releases if I don't give them the sources anyways. However, I must advise all groups that depend on my source to not depend on my Japanese-to-English translations. I make mistakes, and hence you will make the same mistake if you depend on my translations. Please, get Japanese translators of your own.

News

Miscellaneous news about various series:

1. Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku: Putin and Koizumi got figures in WF 2011 Winter. Still don't know when the series resumes.
   
2. Pokemon Special: Ruby and Sapphire arc will get 3 wide releases in the next months. I will import and scan a better raw, but I will neither typeset nor lead a project to typeset them. Get your own group.
   
3. Kaibutsu Oujo: Slowpoke here, but volume 14 comes out next month with the Princess Express OVA.

Schedule

The rough schedule for the next months will be like this:

1. now to late February: wrap up Route 225, finally do that Lying Mii-kun and Broken Maa-chan redo.
2. late February to mid-March: finish up Kindaichi 38 (no plans for further cases), do Jiya. Meanwhile, import Pokemon Special vol 38 (Feb 26).
3. mid-March: do Kaibutsu Oujo vol 14, Pokemon Special vol 38.
4. mid-March to early April: translate Nanika while waiting for Mudazumo vol 6 (Mar 26) and Pokemon Special RS Wide vol 1 (Mar 26).
   
5. early April: do Mudazumo vol 6.
   

Please Don't Steal Credit Cards

I opened PayPal today and saw this:


Apparently one of the donators issued a chargeback. I suspect that it was because the card wasn't his in the first place, since the name he requested was different from the name on the card. Nevertheless, I was at a lost for what to say, so here's the conversation I had with dudebro instead (excuse his language). I'm red and he's blue:

By the way, dudebro is a for-contract graphics designer who raked in hundreds of dollars per month while he was still high school. Fuck him.

Edit: Anyways, back to the topic, I agree that donators shouldn't have to be punished for the exorbitantly high fee that PayPal charged. Therefore, donations are only set back by $25, the amount that was donated then retracted.

Moreover, does anyone know a better donation collection service? Fuck PayPal.

Administrative Changes: Donations, Hiring

Donations

It has come to my attention that this operation is just flat broke. Worse even; because of several errors I've recently made, I'm ashamed to say that we're in the deficit for about $50-100. I'm not a business major, dammit.

While I won't make you guys suffer for my stupidity, it would be nice if you could share my burden, even just a bit. The goal this month is $55 to try to recoup some of the losses and pay for Pokemon Special 37, Mudazumo 5 ($30-40 together), and the next two issues of Young Ace ($22 / issue). The costs for those 4 items is really just $80 instead of $110 over these two months, so I would be ecstatic if the donations even just broke that.

Furthermore, you get immortalized in the credits page of the volume as an "evil background sponsor." I don't think PayPal donations allow you to leave messages. In any case, if you want a special title or if you want to specify which volume you want to be credited, just contact me, somehow prove that you're the donor, and tell me what you want.

Hiring

Now, before you get all excited, I'm currently only "hiring" for Japanese-to-Chinese translators. Why?

It's becoming apparent that no Chinese group is going to scan Pokemon Special 36 and possibly Mudazumo 5 soon. I can read Chinese, but writing is too difficult. Thus, it's a good time to experiment with expanding the one-man team and into the international scene.

Currently, I'm not looking for Japanese-to-[insert other language here] translators, but you can use my PSD files all the same. I would like you to contact me so obese ego can get even more inflated, but whatever, as long as it get translated, I don't care.

What is the position?

You translate Pokemon Special 36 to Chinese. That's it. "You" can refer to either a group or a single person. I don't care.

What you produce can also be negotiable:

1. Script - You translate to a text script, I'll typeset and release.
2. Parallel translation - I'll clean the raw first and give it you, then we'll translate to English and Chinese at the same time.
3. Sequential translation - I'll release the English version as usual, then you take the PSD and translate into Chinese.
4. Hit-and-run - You just take the raw and handle your own releases on your own.

I don't care how it's done, as long as it's somewhat efficient.

What are the qualifications?

There's no qualifications for picking it up. I open source my stuff so other groups can pick it up easily. As long as you can read Japanese (maybe assisted by my English translation) and write Chinese, I'm happy.

That's different from English-to-Chinese, because my accuracy will limit even the best translator. For example, assuming that my accuracy is only 90% of the time, even if you're English-to-Chinese translation skills are perfect, our release will only be 90%. That said, if the Japanese-to-Chinese translations are worse than Japanese-to-English-to-Chinese, I'll pick the latter.

I'll only "endorse" the best group. I have no idea how it will work, but it will depend on how many people/groups actually apply. Given that this blog post will be read by a primarily English crowd, the chances are slim, but it can't hurt to try.

What are the rewards?

Well, I won't provide any financial rewards; this operation is already deep in the red as it is. I guess you could put it on a file host that generates money like DepositFiles and Fileserve. Although I do not condone such behavior for myself, some translations are better than none.

Of course, there's the usual reward of internet fame. It's pretty addictive to see your release get downloaded hundreds and thousands of times. Well, the Chinese scene is mostly based on online readers, but you'll be loved anyways.

TL;DR

I want a translator to translate Pokemon Special 36 to Chinese. How we cooperate can be negotiated, from being a part of /a/nonymous scanlations (/無/名漢化組?) to a group that just cooperates with me, like School Rumble Fantrad for Ryoshka Ryoshka releases in French.

Contact me through the comments or e-mail if you're interested. Here are the raws again if you want to see how difficult they are:

Pokemon Special vol 36 unfiltered (MF)
Pokemon Special vol 36 unfiltered (MU)
Pokemon Special vol 36 unfiltered (IF)

Pokemon Special vol 36 1200p (MF)
Pokemon Special vol 36 1200p (MU)
Pokemon Special vol 36 1200p (IF)

Of course, like me, you can also use Serebii's summaries as a clutch. I think they actually come from a Chinese source, but I could be wrong.

Cyber Blue: the Lost Children

Well, I lack the manpower and funding, so I think that I won't even pick up the first chapter of the Cyber Blue remake. The poll results said a resounding "no" anyways, so I took it down.