Interview #1: Slow AF

[Zephyrus]

Here at MangaDex we're always looking for ways to better serve readers and scanlators both. We have decided to showcase a monthly interview for groups to show some support and love to all the groups that have generously allowed their work to be showcased on MangaDex or actively upload here. We realize that groups don't have to upload to MangaDex for one reason or another and we always appreciate those that choose to do so. The least we can do is help these groups get their name out there so that readers can to know the groups that make MangaDex great a little better!

Our first interview will be with @DrWhoCares, the Group Leader of Slow AF.

Firstly, could you please introduce yourself and your group to your readers?

Hey, I'm DrWhoCares, the guy who translates things. I'm Slow AF tho, so I made the group SlowAF.

What got you into scanlating manga?
I wanted to learn Japanese for a while and I was reading a particularly awful Google Translated release of something on Mangadex and I'm like, "hell, I could proofread this." So I tried contacting them, didn't get an answer. Tried another group that was also awful, they said they hired someone just a day before. Third group brought me on board, but I hated using the Chinese raws, so I just decided to become a translator instead.

What's your favorite thing about scanlating in general?
I like the jokes at the end of the chapters that people make. Honestly, it's probably the best part.

What do you hate most about scanlating in general?
It's probably a tie between stupid drama and for-profit scanlation groups. I see this as just a big library, s'up to us to fill it with books. I mean, I also hate translating because it's really boring and difficult at times. But as long as I'm learning it's all good.

What's your favorite title that your group is currently working on?
My group is currently only working on Potion Loli. Which is honestly hilarious because I'm literally only doing it out of pure spite. I think overall it's a pretty garbage generic isekai, but people love it so that's nice. Favorite title I'm personally working on is Ano Hito no i Ni Wa Boku Ga Tarinai. Chomoran is amazing.

What is your all time favorite manga and why?
Dungeon Meshi. I literally can't rant enough about it. I love everything by Ryoko Kui and I've imported the first 5 volumes and had my buddy who visited Japan to buy me the 6th. Really, anything by Ryoko Kui is amazing. The art, the story, all of it. Go read Dungeon Meshi, then buy it.

What's the worst manga you've ever read?
Mina-sama no Omocha desu. There's probably something worse than this that I have read, but this is the worst I can think of. I did some PR for it a while back, and I have the uncensored raws for the first two volumes and lemme tell you. It doesn't get any better.

Last but not least...who is the best goddamn waifu of all time and why?
Man, I fucking love fishpai from Ano Hito no i Ni Wa Boku Ga Tarinai. She's got it all, from the big boobs, to the height difference, to the airheaded playfulness. Not to mention her stares are adorable. The extras and Twitter images of Mitsuhara are amazing.

Omake: Oh and if you want to sneak in someplace, the most interesting thing about me that I found out from scanlating is that I'm not a fucking weeb. I'm learning Japanese for the culture and the video games, but boy howdy do weebs get angry when I say I've never seen shit like Evangelion. Rhino forced me to watch it, so I guess I've seen that one now. It was ok.

Thanks for reading everyone! We'd like to encourage everyone to ask @DrWhoCares any additional questions they may have in this thread. We're all about connecting scanlators with their fans.

 

[DrWhoCares]

neat.

 

[Nisem]

cool interview. i agree, as a reader, the end page jokes and the creative credits pages is one of the best parts

 

[Retard_]

Yo bitch, drama is the best part! Wanna start some drama about that?! Reeeeeee

 

[FireFish5000]

Wow! First, let me say to our dear Mangadex admins that I love that the forum icons are now next to the excerpt. Second, love this interview! Hope to see more soon!

And to DrWhoCares, ROLF! Pure spite, really? It wasn't that way at the beginning right? After all, the lack of updates made many of us fear they had dropped it at ch10. The translation attempt some random did after that put many of us in despair. You came up like a knight in shining armor (or a well polished turtle)! Squeaky clean scanlations that were not only readable, but even appeased many of the grammar nerds.
Well, even if it is pure spite, I hope to see more of your work in the future! Still reading Loli Mamoritai for speed, but there are some parts that could be a little clearer.

On that note, I would like to say that the last page of crappy isekai potion was really fitting for your group. The implication that the next release would be in 5-20 years was hilarious. I didn't realize it was talking about the manga release time at first due to the 5 months difference. I vote you add expected scanlation release dates in that format to some other titles.
I will come back to check for replies on December 7th. Thursday of course!

 

[DrWhoCares]

@firefish5000

Pure. Spite.

You can thank @art17 and a few others who's names are longer and harder to remember. I didn't even get past the second page of that one chapter 10.1 that was posted before I stopped and asked for raws, but the only reason I continued is because everyone kept complaining about "if you hate it so much, you do it better."

So I did, and now I have a group who does just that. So yeah, we're not stopping. We'll finish all of Potion Loli...

Eventually.

 

[danke]

Who would you say is your greatest inspiration, the key to your success?

 

[DrWhoCares]

@danke

Probably Loli Mamoritai. The spite produced from reading their releases fuels the SlowAF team.
Chugga chugga, WHOOO WHOOO

 

[NZPIEFACE]

Hey, DrWhoCares.
I've been reading Potion Loli mainly because I just want to see how shit the scanlation can get, so when I saw your release I thought it was absolutely fucking hilarious.
Big fan of your work, bigger fan now that I've read the interview.

I wonder what you think about Loli Mamoritai, as a person, not as a fellow scanlator. What people think about his work is rather obvious so I'd like to know what other people think of his pettiness.

Also, where do you see yourself in the near future?

 

[DrWhoCares]

@NZPIEFACE

Well, putting aside all of the scanlation shit. I think they don't believe that they need any sort of command over the English language to profit off scanlations, which is sad, because it seems to work.
Personally, as I said in the interview, I think making any sort of profit in any way, even just donations, from scanlation is just stupid. Raws are cheap as hell, so just like, get a job and spend 8 dollars and you're set. I spend 9 dollars almost daily on the same type of Qdoba burrito, if I need raws, I can just buy them myself. Other than that, the stupid jokes and giant walls of text with broken English are just hilarious at this point, but doesn't paint them in any sort of good light.

In the near future I'll either be dead or maybe I'll finally figure out how to read these fucking scribbles people call "Japanese".

 

[NZPIEFACE]

Man, and I thought your answer to that second question would be "I'll still be working on the next chapter."

 

[Wolvenworks]

@DrWhoCares 9 bucks for a burrito? damn....i paid less for my lunch. maybe because i live in a third world country that makes anyone with USD look like nobility here. you could get lunches under 2-3 dollars...and english mangas are super expensive here. no burritos are not popular in indonesia; we don't even have taco bell. we got better; fried tempe

 

[Odessakun]

Just here to comment.

This interview was actually pretty awesome. Who knew the group leader was such a cool dude/tte! Kinda really cool, and this definitely puts a personality’s behind the group members.

Other than that, I’m not much of a label type of person, so they never really meant much to me. I’ve been called weeb plenty of times without even knowing what it meant lol. Years later finding out the meaning, I still don’t really get it. I mean I’m sure urban dictionary has it close to what most people take it as but uh... almost every culture loves things of different cultures lol.

I play with a lot of Japanese folk in online games, and they’re always trying to learn English words and get an understanding of the culture here. It seems like they appreciate hearing English as it helps with pronunciation on their end lol. In fact most Japanese people I’ve met, read blogs from, or watched YouTube videos from, adore and appreciate people who love their culture. Mainly because their culture is a mixing bowl of other cultures as well., and they take pride in what they've come to.

Hm... that got long. OKAY ANYWAY NICE INTERVIEW I LOVED IT ???? Look forward to seeing more lmao!

 

[DrWhoCares]

@Wolvenworks
Just checked the receipt, s'actually $8.55. Rounded it up a bit much I suppose.

@Odessakun
Only in my dreams and VRChat can I be a cool dudette.

 

[waterflame]

Man... end of chapter comments are the best! It is one of the reasons I still actually release things... Sucks when there are no comments... :/

Dungeon Meshi is the boom!

Woooo. Fun.

 

[DOZO]

NIce. I could see this type of (future ?) interviews as a good way to get some recommandations as well, for a noob like me ?

 

[goronyanpai]

Isn't this fun? *wheeze*

 

[N30S]

Anyone who hates on Loli Mamoritai so much can only be an awesome person.

So much suffering I had to go through because of him and the manga scanlations are his better works.
I like to read webnovels and imagine the pain finding a wn with an interesting description, only to notice it's 'translated' by him... And this happening multiple times...


Anyway, keep up the good work.

 

[art17]

@DrWhoCares If your motive is spite, great, if your motive is just contributing, great, if you receive donations for doing this, great too, I appreciate your effort doing this and the effort of anyone doing this, I was a translator too, so I know about the ungrateful ones, I'm personally grateful with everyone translating the episodes of this and other manga.

About this manga (Loli war criminal), I hope you live up to your word and finish it (that if the manga resumes some day), an of course, if you feel like doing so.

Regards

 

[waterflame]

@DOZO Just go read Land. Please... someone.