Potion-danomi de Ikinobimasu! - Hanano to Rotte no Futari Tabi - Vol. 1 Ch. 1 - Kaoru's junior goes on a journey

[MangaDex]

 

[IchiuzYluu]

thanks for the translation!
please don't drop the manga...

 

[EchoGirl]

Spinoff..?

 

[Vaturna]

thanks for the translation!
please don't drop the manga...

You're welcome!
I'm a big fan of FUNA, the main author of the series, and since there was no other translation available I recently decided to just try it for myself.
So far I really enjoy working on it, so hopefully I get to finish all 20 chapters (especially since it's a great way to improve my Japanese and my writing in general), but I've never done manga translations before and I just don't know how this develops. It helps to know that people are interested in it

My wish would be to finish one chapter each week.

Spinoff..?

Yeah, this is a spin-off to "I Shall Survive Using Potions" (Potion-danomi de Ikinobimasu!)
The two new protagonists don't appear in the original, but for full context you'd probably have to read at least the first 15 chapters (or watch the anime or read the LN/webnovel).

 

[IchiuzYluu]

I'm a big fan of FUNA, the main author of the series, and since there was no other translation available I recently decided to just try it for myself

I like FUNA's works as well, I still have to read their light novel though. I will probably read Potion-danomi first and Noukin second
I'm less interested by Roukin but I'll read it at some point

 

[anuanuanu]

p2. and 13: Why "portions"? Is the title not clear that it's "POTION"?

 

[Vaturna]

p2. and 13: Why "portions"? Is the title not clear that it's "POTION"?

I'm still not 100% sure if it was the best way to translate the ability. It feels a bit unsatisfying to call it "Portions" when the English title and the main series are clearly calling it "Potions", but it was a deliberate choice I made for the spin-off. (I'm definitely interested in everyone's opinion about it)

In the Japanese version it's simply called ポーション which can potentially be translated into both. And while the main series is clearly about Potions, in the spin-off when Hanano hears about ポーション she immediately thinks of Condiment Portions you might get with your ordered food so you can season it the way you like.
This kind of stuff:

The way I see it, it wouldn't really make sense for Hanano to confuse the meaning of ポーション to be about seasoning but still pronounce it correctly as "Potions". That's why I had to change it. When Hanano is using the word, she isn't actually thinking of potions with magical effects.

(edit: I finally understand how embedded images work^^ - I accidentally used embedded media instead of insert image)

 

[anuanuanu]

I'm still not 100% sure if it was the best way to translate the ability. It feels a bit unsatisfying to call it "Portions" when the English title and the main series are clearly calling it "Potions", but it was a deliberate choice I made for the spin-off. (I'm definitely interested in everyone's opinion about it)

In the Japanese version it's simply called ポーション which can potentially be translated into both. And while the main series is clearly about Potions, in the spin-off when Hanano hears about ポーション she immediately thinks of Condiment Portions you might get with your ordered food so you can season it the way you like.
This kind of stuff:

https://imgur.com/UAIjIUx

The way I see it, it wouldn't really make sense for Hanano to confuse the meaning of ポーション to be about seasoning but still pronounce it correctly as "Potions". That's why I had to change it. When Hanano is using the word, she isn't actually thinking of potions with magical effects.

Ah okay I understand now. Sorry for the harsh tone.


I feel the text should be differentiated when she casts the ability and when she speaks/thinks,「potion」should be used when she's casting and producing potions (with the brackets if possible), and use "portion" if she still thinks it's a condiment.

 

[Vaturna]

Ah okay I understand now. Sorry for the harsh tone.


I feel the text should be differentiated when she casts the ability and when she speaks/thinks,「potion」should be used when she's casting and producing potions (with the brackets if possible), and use "portion" if she still thinks it's a condiment.

No problem. I get where you were coming from

While I'd like to preserve the nuance from the Japanese version that Kaoru's and Hanano's abilities are called the same but have different effects, I just don't like the solution. Whenever Hanano is shouting out "Portion, appear!" it's not really a spell word that she needs to say, she mostly seems to be saying it for dramatic effect (later in the manga she starts to create spices and other stuff without casting anything)
There is a specific scene towards the end of the manga where I need to make sure that calling it "Portions" won't cause unnecessary issues or confusion, but I'm pretty confident about it. It's always a balancing act between preserving all the Japanese word play and creating a translation that feels natural and can stand on its own (something that I personally value a lot).

 

[Vaturna]

Edit

• I replaced Hanano's joke "Yeah, what a way to ground meat my end" with "I literally turned into just meet (just meat)" to stay closer to the original and to keep the continuity when the joke is referenced later in the manga.
• Updated the translator notes and removed the disclaimer that this is an experimental translation with no clear plans to finish it (this is no longer an experiment, we're being serious here )