I'm glad there IS dialogue about this, because it does look like we're going to have to navigate this properly as long as we're all reading this.
It's rough bc western kpop fans overwhelmingly use the term stan (for which the above distinction and definition are correct), so it ends up more useful for a localization than the japanese term oshi but not to the point that it's used incorrectly like this. I've actually way more often seen stan used as a verb than a noun. "I stan __" instead of "I am __'s stan" or "I am a stan of __" Actually actually (oh boy), the only natural ways I've seen stan used as a noun is when broadly describing stans as a group, and typically in derogatory ways.
Reading it used this way in this translation has been, generously, an interesting experience of relearning how the term is being used by the translation and then remembering that the term in raw was most likely oshi, given the japanese setting/source.
At this point, it'll be hard to walk back the translation convention that has been established without jarring readers that learned the term (incorrectly) here or without adjusting the translation throughout the existing work. The easiest way out will likely be when the plot drifts away from the kpop subplot.
Good luck to us who know the difference until then.
Is ”Stan” used correctly in the context of this chapter’s translation?
Besides for the last few pages, no, but it works in the broader context of the manga. Yes, Stan refers to the fan and not the idol themself. It’s my bad for not proofreading this chapter prior to its release. Ive been busy lately and haven’t been able to TS. I’m sorry about that. We missed the mark, but we’ll adjust it for future chapters.
That being said, “stan” is the perfect word to use in this context, and if you’re doubting my authority in this context, just google my name. Yes, the word Stan originated from an Eminem song, but it has evolved and become widely adopted in the both the English-speaking and Korean-speaking K-pop fandoms both as a noun to describe an idol’s or idol group’s fans and also as a verb to describe the action of being a fan. You will hear something like “I am a BTS stan” or “Are you a New Jeans stan?” all the time. I’ve been in the community for over 10 years and have heard these phrases billions of times. Yes, it originally had a derogatory meaning, but it’s since lost that connotation. Is it a bit cringe? Yes, but in the same way that “Oshi“ is cringe. That’s part of why it’s such a good translation IMO, and there’s nothing wrong with being cringe. It shouldn’t matter whether you like idols, vtubers, or trains. Nobody can take that from you as long as you’re not hurting others.
Yes, “oshi“ and “Stan” are not direct translations of each other, but it doesn’t matter. This manga is being translated for an English-speaking audience. Terms like ”senpai” or honorifics like ”-san” don’t have perfect direct translations either. The important part is that we capture the essence of the original text, and I think “stan” does that perfectly. Maybe “bias“ would have been better, but even then, it’s not a perfect translation. If you’re still doubting the prevalence of the word “stan” in the context of kpop, The most popular kpop idol soloist, IU, has a fan song titled “I stan U”, and it was fuckin bangin when she played it at her US concert in LA a couple months back.
Sorry that I’m being so defensive. We put a lot of work (esp shadow-sama and hanimim) into this manga, and we want that effort to be reflected in the quality. We fucked up on this one. We’ll fix it for the future.
As always, thanks for reading.
-awwwCHUU
