Route 225 vol 1 v2

No, I didn't forget about this. The watercolor pages are so difficult to clean because it's just too light. I also replaced the spreads that couldn't be merged the first time around.

You have two options. If you had downloaded the first batch, then you can open that and this archive up, and merge them together to make the v2.

Route 225 vol 1 v2 (redone pages only) 2400p (IF)
Route 225 vol 1 v2 (redone pages only) 2400p (MU)

Route 225 vol 1 v2 (redone pages only) 1200p (IF)
Route 225 vol 1 v2 (redone pages only) 1200p (MU)

Route 225 vol 1 v2 (redone pages only) PSD source (IF)
Route 225 vol 1 v2 (redone pages only) PSD source (MU)

Or just download the v2 batches.

Route 225 vol 1 v2 batch 2400p (IF)
Route 225 vol 1 v2 batch 2400p (MU)

Route 225 vol 1 v2 batch 1200p (IF)
Route 225 vol 1 v2 batch 1200p (MU)

Route 225 ch 11, vol 1 batch [END]

I don't quite understand why people thought that the last part was confusing. In the end, Daigo and Eriko ended up in a different world than the one they had spent chapters 3-10 in. Nevertheless, this might mean that I didn't make the translation clear enough or something.

If it makes your brains hurt less, don't take the technicalities of the plot seriously. IMO, the whole parallel worlds thing is more of a metaphor than anything else.

Route 225 ch 11 2400p (IF)
Route 225 ch 11 2400p (MU)

Route 225 ch 11 1200p (IF)
Route 225 ch 11 1200p (MU)

Route 225 ch 11 PSD sources (IF)
Route 225 ch 11 PSD sources (MU)

The volume release contain a few fixes as usual. I'll make a v2 for chapters 1 and 6 when I get proper color scans.

Route 225 vol 1 2400p (IF)
Route 225 vol 1 2400p (MU)
Route 225 vol 1 2400p (4SH)

Route 225 vol 1 1200p (IF)
Route 225 vol 1 1200p (MU)
Route 225 vol 1 1200p (4SH)

Route 225 live action movie RAW

This was released back in 2006, so it took me from last May to last December to find the DVDISO on Share. It doesn't have a sub and I suck at timing, so you guys are going to have to watch it raw. Everything except the ending (and Daigo's casting choice) is the same as the manga. Just think of this as practice in moon-listening skills.

Route 225 live action movie RAW (IF)
Route 225 live action movie RAW (MU)

Route 225 ch 10

And there's the ending. Looking at the movie, it seems that this part is original, or at least different from the movie. I'm not sure if it's different from the novel.

Route 225 ch 10 2400p (IF)
Route 225 ch 10 2400p (MU)
Route 225 ch 10 2400p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 10 1200p (IF)
Route 225 ch 10 1200p (MU)
Route 225 ch 10 1200p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 10 PSD sources (IF)
Route 225 ch 10 PSD sources (MU)

There's another 20-page epilogue after this.

Route 225 ch 9

This manga suddenly becomes Silent Hill 2. Eriko is seeing visions of her parents because she killed them.

Route 225 ch 9 2400p (IF)
Route 225 ch 9 2400p (MU)
Route 225 ch 9 2400p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 9 1200p (IF)
Route 225 ch 9 1200p (MU)
Route 225 ch 9 1200p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 9 PSD sources (IF)
Route 225 ch 9 PSD sources (MU)

Route 225 ch 8

The title, "Route 225", can be translated as either "Route 225" or "Root 225". The latter interpretation seems to suggest that this story is about Eriko's growth from 14 ("Root 196", the title of chapter 1) to 15 ("Root 225"). IMO, this one makes more sense, but the official translation is "Route 225", so I'll stick with it.

Route 225 ch 8 2400p (IF)
Route 225 ch 8 2400p (MU)
Route 225 ch 8 2400p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 8 1200p (IF)
Route 225 ch 8 1200p (MU)
Route 225 ch 8 1200p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 8 PSD sources (IF)
Route 225 ch 8 PSD sources (MU)

Route 225 ch 7

Silly kids, that's not how you drink tea.

Route 225 ch 7 2400p (IF)
Route 225 ch 7 2400p (MU)
Route 225 ch 7 2400p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 7 1200p (IF)
Route 225 ch 7 1200p (MU)
Route 225 ch 7 1200p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 7 PSD sources (IF)
Route 225 ch 7 PSD sources (MU)

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.
   

Route 225 ch 6

Dear kids, if this situation does happen to you, please go to the police.

Route 225 ch 6 2400p (IF)
Route 225 ch 6 2400p (MU)
Route 225 ch 6 2400p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 6 1200p (IF)
Route 225 ch 6 1200p (MU)
Route 225 ch 6 1200p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 6 PSD sources (IF)
Route 225 ch 6 PSD sources (MU)

Route 225 ch 5

The mystery deepe-wait, I've used this line before. Well, the mystery is going deeper...

Route 225 ch 5 2400p (IF)
Route 225 ch 5 2400p (MU)
Route 225 ch 5 2400p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 5 1200p (IF)
Route 225 ch 5 1200p (MU)
Route 225 ch 5 1200p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 5 PSD sources (IF)
Route 225 ch 5 PSD sources (MU)

Route 225 ch 4

Of course, you can't talk about stories like these without mentioning parallel worlds...

Route 225 ch 4 2400p (IF)
Route 225 ch 4 2400p (MU)
Route 225 ch 4 2400p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 4 1200p (IF)
Route 225 ch 4 1200p (MU)
Route 225 ch 4 1200p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 4 PSD sources (IF)
Route 225 ch 4 PSD sources (MU)

Route 225 ch 3

I have heard that getting kids these days to learn Kanji is a problem in Japan, but is it really that big of a deal? I'm not Japanese, so I wouldn't know.

Route 225 ch 3 2400p (IF)
Route 225 ch 3 2400p (MU)
Route 225 ch 3 2400p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 3 1200p (IF)
Route 225 ch 3 1200p (MU)
Route 225 ch 3 1200p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 3 PSD sources (IF)
Route 225 ch 3 PSD sources (MU)

Route 225 ch 2

The mystery deepens...

Route 225 ch 2 2400p (IF)
Route 225 ch 2 2400p (MU)
Route 225 ch 2 2400p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 2 1200p (IF)
Route 225 ch 2 1200p (MU)
Route 225 ch 2 1200p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 2 PSD sources (IF)
Route 225 ch 2 PSD sources (MU)

Please ignore the PS3 signing key inserted in the margins of the first page. I was thinking that since my volume releases are never uploaded to manga readers, I can have them store this key while I remove it for the volume release. Sure, the key is everywhere on the internet now, but it can't hurt.

Route 225 ch 1

Fucking finally. 211 days after I took the request, here's the first chapter of Route 225.

Anyways, there's a problem. I left the physical raws and forgot to rescan the color pages. The color pages and covers are too light, so I will have to make an exception and do a volume v2 in the far future (in March when I go back during Spring Break?) with correct color pages.

Otherwise, this is perfectly fine. I'm trying out new fonts for this manga because WildWords just isn't hipster enough for me now. Well, I won't change the font of ongoing series, but future series will probably use different fonts.

I might just be generalizing Takako fans too much, but in case you're here for...unique themes present in Aoi Hana and Hourou Musuko, Route 225 doesn't really have them. I don't want to disappoint people again after letting down Kitoh fans with Noririn, after all. However, the art is great as usual. It's a shame that I had to desecrate her beautiful watercolors with my not-so-beautiful scans.

Here's the first out of 11 chapters. I also got the DVDISO of the live action movie off of Share, so I might make a raw encode sometime in the future.

Route 225 ch 1 2400p (IF)
Route 225 ch 1 2400p (MU)
Route 225 ch 1 2400p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 1 1200p (IF)
Route 225 ch 1 1200p (MU)
Route 225 ch 1 1200p (4SH)

Route 225 ch 1 PSD sources (IF)
Route 225 ch 1 PSD sources (MU)

January 2011 schedule

	January 2011
Slot 1	Route 225 vol 1 [END] (300 pages / 3 weeks = 100 pages / week)
Slot 2	Lying Mii-kun and Broken Maa-chan vol 1 [END] (160 pages to redo + 40 new pages)
Slot 3	Noririn vol 2 (100 pages to redo + 100 new pages)
Running Series	Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku (last 3-4 chapters) (100 pages / month = 25 pages / week) 7o3x ch 3 (36 pages / month = 9 pages / week) Pokemon Special BW (Shogaku Yonensei) ch 3 (20 pages / month = 5 pages / week) Ryuushika Ryuushika ch 15 (12 pages / month = 3 pages / week) Kaibutsu Oujo ch 59 script (50 pages / month = 12.5 pages / week)
Total Average Workload	155+ pages / week

I'm 99% sure that this schedule will slip way into next month, but Pokemon Special 38 releases at the very end of Feburary, and my work for Feburary is fairly small anyways, so it's alright. Now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I don't have to rush so much.

I just realized that these HTML charts don't really show the time in the month that each volume or chapter is done. Here's the rough order:

1. Monthlies part 1 (start of the month):
   
   Our Alliance ch 2
   Fractale ch 4 [DROP]
   Pokemon BW ch 3
   Kaibutsu Oujo ch 59 script
   Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku (1-2 of the last few chapters)
   
   
2. Do 2/3rds of Route 225
   
   
3. Monthlies part 2 (middle of the month):
   
   Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku (final chapters) [END]
   Lying Mii-kun and Broken Maa-chan ch 5 [END] (from tank raws)
   7o3x ch 3
   RR ch 15
   
   
4. Rotate between Route 225 and Noririn ch 13-16
   
   
5. Redo parts of Noririn vol 2 and Lying Mii-kun and Broken Maa-chan vol 1

Publication dates for magazines at this time of the year are strange, which is why Pokemon BW is at the start of the month. However, I haven't heard anything about YA 2011-02 from fujisan yet, which is why it's in the middle of the month.

Thankfully, all three tanks are easy to edit, unless Kitoh or Satou Atsunori starts being sadistic. I haven't preordered Noririn 2 or Lying Mii-kun 1 yet because Lying Mii-kun preorders ran out and I want to order them together, but I'll do it as soon as they become available. By the way, the Lying Mii-kun LNs end next week as well on the 10th volume (11 if you count the "i" volume).

This schedule doesn't take into account the joint projects with Animexis. Nanika is in the bimonthly good! Afternoon, but it has 5 more chapters out already. The other joint project ended at 2 volumes. Even though these scripts do delay stuff, I am 2 chapters ahead on the second project, so I have a bit of a head start.

Since this joint thing with FTH and Animexis is working so well, we're most likely going to have a new triple joint project. Animexis will supply raws, FTH will edit, and I'll translate. It's also in the good! Afternoon, so the workload other than the first chapter will likely be negligible.

Update: Oh, this might happen anytime this year, but in case Katawa Shoujo comes out soon, I'll take a vacation from scanlating. Looks like it might actually happen before hell freezes over.

Route 225 raw scan

As a testament to my efficiency with requests, here is the raw to the one-volume manga that Yamada!AD/TRAP/M6 requested 7 months ago. I received this 2 months ago from Mike, and just had it scanned and processed. I will translate this in January; on the bright side, it will be relevant to the anime adaptation of Hourou Musuko, which is drawn by the same artist, Shimura Takako. Since it's adaptation of a novel, Route 225 doesn't have LGBT issues that she's known for writing, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Since her watercolors are so light, I might have to rescan the color pages again on my flatbed. For now, this will do.

Route 225 raw scan 1600p filtered (IF)
Route 225 raw scan 1600p filtered (MU)

Noririn volume 2 will also come out in January, so these two will be the main focus of January. Jiya, the other request that I haven't dropped (sorry to whoever wanted Sin & Punishment and Change 123), and Kindaichi Case Files will follow after them in late January and early February, assuming that other volumes don't pop up. Pokemon Special 38 should come out in late February if I've got the hang of the schedule. I can see the ending (of my debt)!

Fractale ch 1

This anime has piqued my interest because it (a) is in the noitaminA time slot, (b) directed by the (in)famous Yamakan, and (c) looks like a certain Ghibli film. Unlike other manga adaptations such as PSG and Star Driver's, this series is actually available online through GanGan Online (same magazine as Ryoshka Ryoshka). Therefore, I'll get 4 chapters out before I drop this when the anime starts airing in January, like PSG.

Fractale ch 1 (IF)
Fractale ch 1 (MU)
Fractale ch 1 (4SH)

Fractale ch 1 PSD source (IF)
Fractale ch 1 PSD source (MU)
Fractale ch 1 PSD source (4SH)

Coincidentally, I figured out how GanGan Online's URL scheme works:

http://www.square-enix.com/jp/magazine/ganganonline/comic/[series name]/viewer/[chapter]/books/images/2/[page number, not padded].jpg

So the first page of Ryoshka Ryoshka ch 12 is:

http://www.square-enix.com/jp/magazine/ganganonline/comic/ryushika/viewer/012/books/images/2/1.jpg

Pathetic, Square Enix.

But wait, THERE'S MORE!

Route 225 finally arrived. It's a manga based on a mystery novel by Fujino Chiya, as drawn by Shimura Takako. The summary is this:

"The story, also adapted into a live-action film, is told from the point of view of 14-year-old Eriko, who is left in charge of her younger brother Daigo, when her parents disappear. Contrary to most manga, in Route 225, the disappearing parents are a major part of the plot. Mum and Dad have somehow been transported to an alternate world, from which they are still somehow able to dial back cryptic messages to Earth mobile phones."


In May, after I paid Mike for his services, he said that I overpaid him a little, so I could choose a manga volume to be shipped in with his own order. So, I asked /a/ what totally overlooked one-shot they want to see. True to their fashion, I got Birdy II (which is still not getting translated), the Tsukihime manga (which just got picked up), etc. Finally, Yamada!AD/TRAP/M6, the purveyor of Taka Tuesday threads, suggested this manga. One-shot (well, one volume)? Check. Completely unknown...everywhere? Check. Intriguing mystery? Check.

So now, 5 months later, I'm...still not ready to pick it up. I didn't notice that it's 280 pages long, which definitely won't fit in November.

Now the chart looks li-

IF YOU CALL NOW,

YOU'LL GET TWO NEW JOINT PROJECTS WITH ANIMEXIS. THAT'S RIGHT, TWO WHOLE BRAND-NEW PROJECTS!

Well, it might turn out to be three, depending on how interesting the new series about quiz-battling in Young Ace is.

Since I don't know how fast we'll make our releases (Animexis is slightly slower, but damn, they know how to clean and edit), I won't update the chart to only fail my goals again. I'm moving Route 225 to January so I can finish up with Cyber Blue and catch up on the remaining scans I have of Noririn in November. Mudazumo 5 and Pokemon Special 37 stands to take up the entirety of December and maybe a bit of January. Then, if I haven't imploded yet, I'll make my next move.

Oh, and I suppose there's also the Pokemon Special Restoration Project, which is shaping up nicely. The workload is presumably negligible because I'm only doing page merges and the intro/end of each volume.

Future Expectations: Q3 2010

It's nice to take a look at the big picture once in a while. Just what is the future of /a/nonymous scanlations?

1. Hoshi no Samidare: As you all know (I hope), Hoshi no Samidare is serialized in Young King Ours, which releases every month on the 30th. However, since monthly magazines are 800-page bibles, it takes a day or two to scan, so chapter 64 raws will likely be released on Share around August 1-3. It just so happens that I have an important event in that time range, right after I return from my vacation. Even when taking in consideration time zone differences and early releases, it's very probable that chapter 64 will be delayed.
2. Pokemon Special: Just when I thought I caught up with the volumes, volume 36 was announced for release on August 29th, 2010. Also, since iNet isn't making any moves, I'll probably import volume 33 too. As tempting as it is to import Chuang Yi's volume 33, differences such as naming and reading direction makes that bad choice.
3. Kaibutsu Oujo: The margin between the raws and the English translations is now under 10 chapters! The plot starts accelerating, especially on chapter 55-57, so I'm looking forward to those.
   
4. Cyber Blue: After much delay, both remaining volumes will be done in August.
   
5. Mudazumo: Volume 5 hasn't been announced yet, nor are OVAs 4-6. I haven't had the chance to see if the uploader on PD has started uploaded chapters, though.
6. Sin & Punishment: The translator never contacted me again, but I feel pretty confident about translating it now. Only the first few pages spam Kanji like nobody's business; the rest of the volume is actually fairly sparse in text.
7. Upotte!!: I haven't forgot about this series, but since Animexis started releasing again, I'm dropping it.
8. Route 225: An one-shot by Shimura Takako (Hourou Musuko, Aoi Hana) based on a novel by Fujino Chiya. More info will be given later.
9. Himizu: Looking very likely, since the chapters are short and translated to Chinese.
   

The Q3 chart looks like this for regular scanlation:

	July	August		September
Slot 1	Pokemon Special 35	Cyber Blue vol 3	Cyber Blue vol 4 [END]	Pokemon Special 33	Pokemon Special 36
Slot 2	Vacation	Sin & Punishment vol 1 [END]	Route 225 vol 1 [END]	(rest of) Himizu vol 2?
Slot 3	Kaibutsu Oujo (ch 50-59)