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So I was going to wait until my name ended up in the credits anyway to list some of these shows I just added but I'd been given permission to talk about these shows a while back anyway so I figured why not. https://twitter.com/Gshock99/status/1298472615187607552
The main reason I hesitated mentioning I translated a couple of these shows is because I'd seen some of the comments people had posted about my work on them before I even had a chance to say I worked on them, so I just didn't bother until now. (cont)
And sure, criticism is fine. If I was terrified of criticism, I wouldn't bother putting myself out there. While I'm not perfect and I've made my share of mistakes, I'm proud of the work I've done overall. I know I'm not perfect. I'm human, so I make mistakes. (cont)
The only thing I can do about mistakes is correct them, learn from them, grow, and carry on. Translating is a forever ongoing learning experience. I've been speaking Japanese and English for over 30 years of my life and I'm still learning every day. (cont)
One of these shows, I'd spent hours trying to figure out how to deal with something that came up in the translation. I knew that no matter what I did with it, some people weren't going to be happy. So I went ahead and went with my gut. (cont)
Overall, I was happy with the script. Despite the one line I wasn't happy with, I managed to translate every other pun in the episode... But that didn't matter anymore. Because the one line I was anxious about, as I feared, caught a lot of people's attention. (cont)
It was interesting seeing some people defending my decision, some people totally shitting on my decision, going back and forth... All over one line lol. (cont)
Usually, I can shrug it off because obviously, this isn't my first time getting harsh comments about my translation. But this time it hit harder than it ever did and way more than it should have, especially because there were a few other things going on that had me down (cont)
Despite doing this job professionally for 8 years, despite knowing that there are just some times you are going to have to make a translation choice that people may not be satisfied with no matter what direction you go in, (cont)
I actually started wondering if my translation was going to ruin the experience of the general audience watching it. And I felt awful about that. Seeing not only randos but people I looked up to ripping apart my translation hit me harder than it should have. (cont)
I'm not going to say don't critique and I'm not going to say don't shitpost. I know how frustrating it is to see inaccurate translations, and we should always strive for the best. And I always want to become better, so I will keep doing my best to improve. (cont)
But it is always easier to critique someone else's work than actually doing the work yourself. I've made plenty of mistakes over the years, and I've corrected them when I can. So I try not to publicly drag anyone. (cont)
A huge part of my job is checking the translations of others. I've seen everyone make mistakes. I correct the ones I see and move on. I'd rather concentrate on the rest of the fantastic translation they produced rather than dwell on a of couple mistakes. (cont)
If there are things that need to be brought to the translator's attention, I will do that, but privately. Seeing other translators improve over the years has been one of the most rewarding experiences of this job, and I always learn something seeing other translators' work.(cont)
We are human. Mistakes will happen. The important thing is to correct them and learn from them. That is how you get better at translating and basically, anything else. I'm obviously rambling now, so I'll stop... in a sec. I want to end on a positive note. (cont)
Thank you to everyone who've I've worked with. Thanks to those who have given me legitimate criticism so I can improve. Thank you to everyone who has supported my work over the past 8 years and said such kind things to me about my work. I will continue doing my best. Cheers
Aw thank you and I admire you so much, too! You're such an amazing artist! I think having confidence comes with being a translator because you are going to have people judging your work all the time and you have to be sure of your work... But I think being humble...
