Esper Mami - Vol. 1 Ch. 1 - Who is the Esper?
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Floor pillow /cushion.
This is a great one to have translated. One of my favorite magical girls. The anime also has some episodes translated hopefully rest get done some day.
Unfortunately this seems to be an AI translation. The group's linked website mentions this about another series they worked on:
"As lifelong fans of Kingdom, we know how unbearable it can be to wait for new chapters. When fast translations stopped, we decided to take matters into our own hands. Using our expertise in software and AI, we’ve streamlined the scanlation process to deliver high-quality translations of Kingdom chapters within 1-2 hours of the official Japanese release."
"As lifelong fans of Kingdom, we know how unbearable it can be to wait for new chapters. When fast translations stopped, we decided to take matters into our own hands. Using our expertise in software and AI, we’ve streamlined the scanlation process to deliver high-quality translations of Kingdom chapters within 1-2 hours of the official Japanese release."
I was merely offering a warning to anyone interested.
AI translations are far from a miracle. I work on translations of several old manga and anime series, much older than Esper Mami, and with many real people. It can be done. We don't need to rely on AI.
It's especially not a miracle if the group doesn't have any qualifications to check the AI's output. I will give credit where it's due, the presentation of Esper Mami here is decent. (The raws would look better if they were leveled, though.) Compare it with the group's previous release of TP Bon, which seems to be an unedited copy-and-paste from the AI and which I would classify as unreadable.
AI translations are far from a miracle. I work on translations of several old manga and anime series, much older than Esper Mami, and with many real people. It can be done. We don't need to rely on AI.
It's especially not a miracle if the group doesn't have any qualifications to check the AI's output. I will give credit where it's due, the presentation of Esper Mami here is decent. (The raws would look better if they were leveled, though.) Compare it with the group's previous release of TP Bon, which seems to be an unedited copy-and-paste from the AI and which I would classify as unreadable.
Oh wow, thank you so much for taking the time to create a brand-new account just to warn the world about the dangers of AI translations. Truly, a noble cause. And of course, your deep insider knowledge about how this group operates - despite having no connection to it - really adds credibility. We’re all grateful for your public service.
Yep, I created an account because I had something to say here. That's how forums work.
I never said I had insider knowledge of your group, I was just quoting from your linked website.
So you're not using AI to translate this manga, then?
We appreciate your constructive feedback, especially about page leveling - it's always helpful to hear ways we can improve!
That said, we're a little confused by your warning. You first say, "Unfortunately, this seems to be an AI translation," but then acknowledge that the "presentation of Esper Mami here is decent." Like YuriM said, AI is just a tool - when used correctly, it can produce good translations, and when not, the result can be poor (as seen in our very first TP Bon project). We've learned a lot since then, and if you've followed our work for a while, you might have noticed the improvement in quality.
So, an honest question for you: Do you read a manga because the fan translator explicitly says, "we do human translation," rather than focusing on the actual quality of the work?
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If you are 100% relying on AI as in you can't read a word of the language you're translating from, yes, a warning is the bare minimum you should have put lol. It doesn't take a preschooler to understand the concept of transparency. Also, the fact that you didn't even delete/remake your shoddy machine-translated work says a lot about your (low) level of respect towards the author.
Please don't mind TP Bon, it's our very first project and the quality is bad, we know.
But have you checked out Esper Mami? We’ve got two chapters up on MangaDex now! If you’ve spotted any of those 'shoddy machine-translated' parts you mentioned, could you point them out? We’d really appreciate the feedback!
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You could try to do something with the untranslated shouts and laughs for those that don't know kana.
for example, Ch1.p15. panel 2 "Ichi shun de" "一しゅんで" "in an instant" the translator/ocr didin't read this line correctly. Just knowing basic hirakana and katakana will help you see that the extracted text is read correctly. Ch2.p13. Panel 1. "you mess up" should be "even if it fails" there are a few instances where the dialogue doesn't make sense in the context or doesn't flow well to the next scene, whether the original text was so or there is a misunderstanding in the translation. When I translate, I read through the translated text once before I typeset and after I've typeseted to see how it flows. You can help your translation and understanding of the original by using a dictionary like jisho.org, for sfx http://thejadednetwork.com/sfx/ might help.
Appreciate this, particularly the SFX. Fixed now.
"The canvas ... in an instant ... returns to the top of the bookshelf!!!!"
"Even if I fail, Mami-kun's fist won't be that bad."
We really appreciate this specific feedback because it tells us precisely what needs to be fixed.
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In this line, Takahata isn't referring to himself but to the experiment.
I could offer to check your translation, as this is one manga I would have wanted to translate if I'd had the time. contact my Discord.
