Answerman

Is Anime Translated Faithfully In Other Languages?

Alfonso asks:

The Latin American Spanish dubs of Sailor Moon and Pokémon used the American names of the characters on this region. While I haven't verified it myself, I would assume they also used the American script for the dialogues. Can a Japanese company or licensor impose a condition for overseas distribution in which a dub in a specific region must use the script of another region or language rather than be based on the original Japanese script ? If so, why would they do this? I know this happens in video games because, for example, the most recent game in the Saint Seiya franchise (Soldiers' Soul), the Latin American Spanish dub was based on a translated English script and this at the behest of Bandai Namco, the developer and publisher of the game. Needless to say that this did not go well with long-time fans of the series in Latin America.

It's true, many anime and video game translations to Western languages other than English are actually coming from the English scripts. It's definitely not all of them, and the smaller specialty publishers are less likely to do that sort of thing. But honestly, 90% of the time this cheat will go entirely undetected, so we don't really know how often it happens, only that it does happen.

This is done for several reasons. The first is that English is very often the lingua franca of business: the international bureau of the licensor or original producer always has a handful of fluent-ish English speakers, and most other countries study English as a secondary language. (Some countries, like Germany, even have a sizable percentage of their population that is so fluent, it's hard to tell they're not a native speaker.) English is the language of choice for the entertainment business, worldwide.

The licensor has also gone through a lot of trouble to proof and approve the English translations. They've worked out Anglicized names, made the tough adaptation choices, and done what it's perceived needs to be done to make the show or game accessible to a non-Japanese audience. That could be simply a straight-forward translation, or it could be a more wholesale adaptation, like on Pokémon. In making that "master" English version, they are making a version that they consider to be for the widest worldwide audience possible.

When it comes to kids' properties, the operations that rework the shows for broadcast in English are usually far better equipped to orchestrate the production of multiple other language versions than the Japanese licensing office. Pokémon specifically is adapted and dubbed in New York City first, and then that adapted version is what is shipped to other markets for further localization. Productions from 4Kids and other companies that used to localize anime for a kids' market used to do the same. The multiple language dubs required by Netflix for their anime are often coordinated by the English dub studio (even if they're subcontracted to firms in other countries). Those New York and Los Angeles-based post-production groups are simply equipped for that sort of huge, multi-lingual, multi-national operation in a way that few other companies are. Video game adaptation is often treated in a similar way.

It's easy to chalk up the use of the English script to laziness on the part of the local publisher -- it is much easier to find someone to translate an English script into a local language than directly from Japanese -- but the truth of the matter is that even when the goal is to have a faithful dub (such as with a JRPG), a good translation from the English is still usually better than a bad translation from Japanese. English is far more like Spanish and French and German and other Western languages than Japanese is, so the lingual acrobatics required to get from one language to another are nowhere near as dire.

Is it an ideal situation? No. It'd be far better to have a fluent speaker of both Japanese and the destination language do a proper, direct translation, so that as few subtleties are lost as possible. But having affordable and qualified translators for such a task is a luxury, and the final output couldn't be checked over or approved by Japan. And so, the best way for the licensors to extend control over those other adaptations is to insist that they start with the approved English edition.

Do YOU have a question for the Answerman?

We want your questions! Send in as many or as often as you like. We can only pick three questions a week (and unfortunately I don't have ALL the answers) so if you haven't been chosen, don't be discouraged, and keep on sending.

However, there are a few tips you can follow that will make it far more likely that your question gets answered:

• Questions can be submitted by email only. (Tweets with industry questions get ignored.)
• I absolutely cannot answer questions about whether a show will get another season. New productions are closely guarded secrets until they're publicly announced, so there's nothing I can tell you that Google can't.
• I cannot help you get in touch with any producers, artists, creators, actors or licensors. If you're trying to pitch an idea, you should read this.
• Keep it short! If you find yourself breaking up your question into multiple paragraphs, it's too long.
• Proper grammar and punctuation are your friends!
• Be specific, and give examples when possible. I get a lot of questions asking me about some perceived pattern someone sees in a bunch of unrelated shows, and often I just don't get what's being asked.
• Check the archives! I may have already answered your question!

Got all that? Great! The e-mail address is answerman (at!) animenewsnetwork.com. And thanks!!

Justin Sevakis has worked in the anime business for nearly 20 years. He's the founder of Anime News Network, and owner of the video production company MediaOCD. You can follow him on Twitter at @worldofcrap.