The Soulless Duchess - Vol. 1 Ch. 18

[Freija]

@yardmonkey Ah, thanks for correcting me! I only keep updated through Mangadex since I don't follow any scanlation groups. I'm not really keen on joining D&A's discord either, especially considering how they're handling this as a group.

I also understand that translating/proofreading/typesetting chapters takes a lot of time! However, within the past day hours they released over ten chapters, so it either means that they have been sitting on a backlog for no reason, or they rushed through them over the past three weeks. Considering that all of their chapters have redrawn sound effects, I doubt that these were rushed. I understand staggering releases so that when people are banging on your door for more, you have room for a breather or a break because there's another release lined up. And while I understand that it's not fair to complain about a free service being done by people in their free time, I think it's fair to criticize how they're reacting to this situation.

I feel I should also clarify that I understand why I have a issue with D&A picking up multiple titles. I get why scanlation groups would focus on a popular series while also working on their own personal interests projects on the side, since it's something I've seen over the years where the translator would have a pet project of a series they're a big fan of while also working on their popular scanlation. However, D&A has picked up multiple titles for a small group and while I understand that translators aren't obligated to work on series they don't have interest in, it can be a problem if there's a limited number of proofreaders/typesetters/redrawers. If they keep picking up different titles, then it creates a bottleneck where their pace slows to a crawl because everyone is waiting for the chapter they worked on to be ready for release. There comes a point when you have to say put your foot down to make sure everyone isn't too spread out over everything.

@slytherinheiress Actually, I have bought raws and I've cleaned/typeset/translated works in the past, although not from Korean. I know exactly how much work it is, and I admire people who are able to do it on a daily basis, because there's a reason why I don't do it. It's why I understand why D&A is dropping their project and why I don't blame them for wanting to do that.

What I am doing is criticizing how they're handling it, which reads less of a power move and more of a dramatic flounce because they're upset they're being upstaged. The fact that people are saying that readers "deserve" to have a "lower quality" translation because they weren't 100% supported proves that point; while we aren't obligated to demand their time and effort, they also aren't obligated towards having exclusive rights to a title.

 

[JustA_]

Thanks for the amazing work all this time!

Really don't get why you had to do that
spoiler at the end. It's not like we don't know it'll happen, still feels horrible though.

 

[The_DCG]

Thanks a lot for going back and translating the 6-8 chapters, as well as this mass release!

 

[veelyra]

readers sure are scary. LOL.

 

[coetzeejm]

I have to agree with another commenter here that the no name group’s work is simply too low-quality to read in comparison to Devil & Angel. It’s a bummer for sure. I only started reading this series the other day and didn’t realize it would basically come to an end abruptly for such a sad reason.

 

[Flyingpantsu]

Ooh, I like that lady Celton. She worked hard to be there she is and she's proud of it. She's too pure and upfront to become a villain. Also I understand her being put off by Ivona's comment because it's like denying her life until now. Anyway she's cute and I like red hair.

 

[SheilaSkypelt]

I mean, you are in the right to drop whatever manhwa you want, we aren't paying you, but was it really necessary to put a spoiler there? I don't think that image was in the original chapter.

 

[Valve]

Fucking shit, here I am reading along and suddenly it's like, don't read past this point, I'm like, eh what? Who shouldn't read past this point and why? Oh fucking shit.
What I'm saying is basically f*** these i**** a******* translators that think they own every manga they get their hands on and can make money off it, crying like babies when someone else interferes with their business.
Well I don't know if they take add rev or donations but if they don't why would they react to someone else translating, entitiled little children using other's work to make money, trash, ban them off mangadex.

 

[biblio11]

You're scanlating a manhwa, spending your free time and money on it. We all appreciate it and know that your releases are better quality with the time you put into them than the people who are "sniping." If you ever decide to come back and scanlate the rest of this story, I'll gladly read through your releases of it again.

However, I only stumbled across this manhwa a few days ago, and throwing your middle school drama into the reading of it and ruining the story with a spoiler was a really petty thing to do, especially to all the people who have been supporting and defending you with their comments when others had taken your work. I hope you all mature a bit before this happens again and you decide to spoil a different story for someone else. I'm not trying to downplay the vast amount of work you do, but you can't control what others do, only what you, yourself do. I'm sure as a group there was a better way to handle this situation and not upset the majority of your audience with this "power move." Safe to say, no matter how good the stories may be, I'll be avoiding your works for awhile to make sure I don't go through this again.

 

[gum_rummy]

👀🍿

 

[Glomoro]

The other group continues from here for quite some time, and at least two other groups have also done their share of this after this chapter. If this group just honestly lost interest in the series or were busy or whatever, so long, thanks for the work. If it was more of the usual scanlator drama: lol.

 

[hophope]

@Valve what do you mean by "don't read past this point"? You mean when DAS showed the not-really-a-spoiler image below that? Or did you actually miss that?

 

[Valve]

@hophope No I obviously did read it, but since I was never part of whatever bullshit idiot war they had going on, how was I suppsed to know that there was a risk of random boobytrapping of a normal translation chapter for seemingly no reason, nor was there anything that told me who put that "warning" there or why, to get to the next chapter I have to scroll past that point anyway to change page or pull out the side pannel... Guess what is easier and comes more naturally?
And yes the spoiler is "not-really-a-spoiler" but why was it there in the first place? The only thing it does is piss everyone off.

 

[Melnyx]

@veelyra I just started reading this Manhwa yesterday, but your comment killed me after reading all that.

 

[veelyra]

@Melnyx HAHAHAH am i wrong though

 

[Psychronia]

"How can she be so confident even though I gave her remarks on good wife criteria?!"
Now I'm not sure if this a translation thing or what, but that cracked me up. She placed so much weight on such a silly thing that it broke her worldview when it was treated as...secondary.

As expected though, their trash-talk game is weak. She barely felt it and what she did feel was just adorable.

 

[operativealyssa]

Honestly, I don’t mind that they put that “spoiler” in this chapter. I mean if you think about it, we all know that’ll happen, no? And I do get why D&A were upset because of the issue. There’s an unwritten rule that you don’t touch a work if someone’s already working on it. I’m not in anyone’s side but I’m pretty sure I sounded like I’m taking D&A’s side with my comment. But I do get why they dropped this. Some readers were pissed because of it but honestly, I’m thankful for the effort they put in scanlating this series. And if they decided that they’ll drop it, then we have no say in it. It’s not like we’re paying them, right? I’m also thankful that another group picked up where they left off. Basically, as readers, let’s just be thankful for everyone who do this for free and let’s not be a b—tch about it. 😊

 

[aodpds711]

Was wondering why there's a lot of comment here than usual. Didn't expected to get spoiled like that though.

Sure, we all know how it's gonna end. But do these guy have to be an ass and spoiled it for us?

Doesn't matter how good you are at something. If you're a cunt. You're a cunt.

 

[iToddler]

Go kill yourself shitty scanlator bitches

 

[Phoenix_VII]

People defending sniping should think twice. In my experience, once the original translators lose interest due to said sniping, the snipers release a few more chapters, disappear, and then the series goes untouched for months. Didn't happen this time, but think carefully of what you defend.