I keep being confused by the actual role of an editor in light novel translation. Both in the fan scene and the professional scene, I see certain editors pop up in more than one place, but the final output is just... so wildly different?

Just what DOES the editor do?

I think that's what I kept doing wrong. I kept thinking as an editor, it'd be my responsibility to ensure the sentences flowed naturally and the work'd be a pleasure to read, prose-wise.

But the more I research, the more it shows that's not at all the case.

I read one work, the English is perfectly natural, the lines are jazzy and solid.

I read another work, same editor, different translator. Stilted English, awkward constructions.

Another work, same editor, different translator. Leaves no real impression: neither bad nor good.