Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly now like never before, affecting every industry worldwide. There may be some positive usages of AI in other situations, but when it comes to the manga industry,there have been nothing but serious drawbacks to using AI for translation.
According toan interview on Gizmodofeaturing the opinions of several professional manga translators,AI is not a viable solution to solve the challenges of translating manga from Japanese into English.There are some instances in which AI can be used effectively and produce desirable results, but according to these creators, translating manga is not currently one of them.
AI-Translated Manga Lacks the Personal Touch of Manga Translated by a Human
AI Cannot Adjust for Subtle Nuance, Complex Speech Patterns, and Other Issues That Arise When Translating
Some people may view translating manga from one language to a different one as a relatively simple process and assume that the shift between languages is fairly seamless. However, translation is a time-consuming and often tedious process because it goes so much deeper than simply interchanging a word in one language with the same word in another. As Stephen Paul, David Evelyn, and Casey Loe, the translators interviewed, can attest to,the deeply personal, complex process oftranslating a manga series into Englishis not something AI can replicate now,or maybe even ever.
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When working on a manga, these translatorsmust take into account puns, jokes, the speech patterns of each character, and the personalities of the characters whose dialogue they are translating,and this short list only scratches the surface of the different elements that must be considered during the translation process. Sometimes, there is no English alternative for a Japanese word,making these series nearly impossible to translate. Translators must use their best judgment and creativity to ensure that the word or phrase they choose fits the original author’s intended meaning and makes sense to the English-speaking audiences who will be reading the manga.
The Manga App Novelous Faces Backlash for Unedited AI Translations
Readers Are Disappointed by the Quality of AI Translations That Have Been Released So Far
Technically, AI can perform the task of translating Japanese text to English, and many publishers are exploring this avenue as a means to distribute more manga faster. One Japanese publisher, Shogakukan, releasedan app titled Novelous, which uses AI to translate the manga and light novels available on the app.Some readers have already voiced their displeasure, explaining that the AI translations on the app fail to capture the charm of the original Japanese versions. Novelous is just another piece of proof that AI is not equipped to handle the important task of translating manga.
David Evelyn, who works on series likeUndead Unluck, Gokurakugai,andCity Hunter,expressed his doubt that AI is on par with human translators at this time, stating that"I don’t feel like AI is threatening anyone’s jobs right now because it’s so useless at what it’s doing.“The AI translations of series that have been released thus far have received nothing but backlash for their poor quality, and Evelyn went on to explain that this is because AI cannot capture the “unique and consistent voices for each character”, “puns and references,” and “uniquely Japanese concepts that would be confusing to international audiences.”
Authors, Editors, and Translators Have Spoken Out Against AI in Manga
These Creators’ Concerns Should Not Be Taken Lightly Because These Problems Are Already Hurting the Industry
Human translators spend countless hours meticulously choosing the correct language to convey specific emotions to their audiences, and a quick, unedited AI translation understandably does not impact audiences in the same way. Translators like Evelyn, Paul, and Loe have spent years honing their craft, becausetranslation is an art in itself that is far more complicated than most manga readers even realize.Sadly,these translators have received harassment from some readers, but their careful efforts to bring the story to life in a different language should not go unrecognized and deserve appreciation.
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Even authors themselves have spoken out about their concerns, including Hirohiko Araki, creator ofJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.Araki was unsettled by AI recreations of his artworkand stated that “copyright infringement by AI is also a “villain” that we manga artists face.” Not only do AI translations threaten the quality of manga, the technology also allows artwork to be stolen and recreated, yet another problem in the industry. Manga letterers, translators, and authors themselves are right to speak up, because if this disturbing trend of AI-translated manga continues,the industry risks losing the human touch that makes these manga series so enjoyable to read.
