Comic Book Localization (Manga Translation)

Many aspects of Japan’s fascinating culture are highly regarded throughout the world, amongst which Japanese manga/comics are gaining a particular amount of attention every year and consolidating their position in numerous regions, starting with North America, European countries (France, Germany, Sweden, etc.) as well as Asia. Moreover, along with the increasingly high quality of portable terminals, the supply of “manga content” for mobile distribution has started to develop worldwide.

However, comic book localization (manga translation) shouldn’t be considered as merely translating words from one language to another.　In order to fit into small speech bubbles a translation which grasps the subtle nuances of the dialogues and details such as proper nouns, puns and onomatopoeias without betraying the sense and feel of a scene, strong writing and translation skills as well as a profound understanding of both cultures (Japanese and that of the publishing country) are required.

Furthermore, there usually are cultural and custom differences between Japan and the publishing country, so there is always a risk of inadvertently hurting someone’s feelings by using taboo expressions such as racist slurs, etc. This is why we are committed to avoiding such issues and actively carry out proofreading and quality control processes (culture check) to make sure the sentences conform to the target country’s cultural standards.

At Arc Communications, we work with native translators who possess a comprehensive knowledge of Japanese subculture and are totally capable of providing high-quality services to our customers.

Speech bubble layout and culture check

We provide DTP services such as adjusting the speech bubble layouts at a very reasonable price. Besides, we carry out what is known as culture checks in order to insure that the linguistic level is adapted to the targeted country. This consists in making sure that the final translation would be acceptable to readers from a specific country and that no prohibited words (racist or such) or inappropriate expressions have been missed out.