First Future Project Poll

onizuka-gto · Post by **onizuka-gto** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 8:44 pm

meh. only if it's worth something.

Please give a little bit more information on your suggestions, and wether it will be licenced anytime soon, please.

:p

Zero Blitz · Post by **Zero Blitz** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 5:25 am

ms07, the art looks nice but what's it about? They need information about licensing probability, a bit of the story etc. before it can be added to the poll.

Not that it can beat Zero no Tsukaima now.

But if you can get it onto the poll, a one page teaser should be done. ^^

Well, I just did a quick search on google and it seems there was a 6 episode anime series released earlier this year. The rating is 8.00/10. Here's the description:

「During the winter, Yuichi was hospitalized due to hepatitis. Randomly he would try to escape from the hospital but would get beat up by the nurse. One day, he happened to meet Rika, a girl of his age, in the next building. He was fascinated by her beauty, but she was very selfish girl. Although she led him by the nose, he began to be attracted by her. However, when Rika told him about her illness, he knew why she acted so selfish; she didn't have long to live」 taken from AnimeNFO.

It sounds OK but I don't see it as being better / more interesting than Zero no Tsukaima, Shakugan no Shana, Seikai no Senki, Welcome to the NHK or even Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu... so give some reasons which make this series good, number of volumes, maybe some more pics based on the novel (not anime), etc.

Itachi-chan · Post by **Itachi-chan** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 9:14 am

Well, I'm new in this forum and all, but I voted on Zero no Tsukaima. It's a really good show, and I'm really interested in the novels.

onizuka-gto · Post by **onizuka-gto** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 11:52 am

wow. im quite surprised by the interest in the Zero no Tsukaima novels.

well i can say that, when we reach the point where we will only have two novels of the suzumiya Haruhi series to do, we will start creating the wiki pages necessary to start the next project.

SubordinateFive · Post by **SubordinateFive** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 1:07 pm

Zero Blitz wrote:...and it seems there was a 6 episode anime series released earlier this year...

...which is available here.

I present this link to help the translators decide whether it's something they're interested in.

I myself remain impartial. (Proof: I still haven't cast my vote in this poll.) I generally vote in this forum's polls, but for this one, I'm content to just sit back and watch the discussion, adding my 2 yen every now and then.

SubFive, out.

Post by **Nandeyanen** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 1:38 pm

Zero Blitz: Well, you can't really say that Zero no Tsukaima, Shakugan no Shana, Seikai no Senki, etc. are definitively 'better' than this Hantsuki, as 'good' and 'bad' are really subjective, and are based solely upon a person's opinion... which is pretty much the reason we have this poll... anyways, back to the topic (and to answer your questions). Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora is a sweet romance with a bit of a melancholy undertone, since Rika is severely ill. I think that the main reason that I liked it was how it wasn't extremely happy, nor was it overly sad, it had a sort of a lifelike feel to it; There are ups and downs, and Rika's illness brings about the issue of the shortness of our life, and the inevitability of death. Anyways, for people who are interested the site is located here (it's in japanese) and has the cover images of the 6 books, as well as other bits of information.

Nidema · Post by **Nidema** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 1:46 pm

I agree, u can`t say any series is better than another. Personally, I think Zero no Tsukaima will be a great series but will be forgotten after awhile, not completely, but to some extent. It just doesn`t seem like it will have an extremely deep story and give you some mind boggling ideas.

Its more of an up beat story. If you think in terms of story, I think Seikai is the most deep and involving. Sure, it might not have as many novels as ZnT, but the depth of it is incredible. Then again, its not for everybody. Thats why its impossible to say one series is better than another.

Personally, i like Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru sora has a great story too. I think its more meaningful to me than ZnT is now currently. ZnT seems like a series that is quick to catch attention and will be quick to lose it once it is over not like SnS or Hanbun

onizuka-gto · Post by **onizuka-gto** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 3:53 pm

My opinion of the purpose of this project is to take on interesting light novels which would not usually be exposed to English language fans.

And if you consider this, all of the candidate for this poll fits this bill.

They would not be published in the western world for some time anyway.

If i had to list ones that I would like to translate first based upon the lease likely title to be licenced by a western publisher i would list it as:

Escape From School

Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu

Zero no Tsukaima

Shakugan no Shana

Seikai no Senki

Although SnS is not licenced, just the fact that the eariler book has been licence suggest the western publisher felt that the market is right for hard Japanese Science fiction titles, but still show no signs to go for the more stranger one, except the publishing of the Boggiepop titles means they are willing to go for fantasy horror, which in my opinon makes Shana the next in line.

Surprisingly, although the success of stereotypical comedy, sci-fi, romance animes is at an all time high, i don't the same can be said for the novel reading aspect which is why i doubt i see Tsukaima or UFO coming anytime soon.

So why Escape from school listed first?
well the lack of votes just reinforce the point that no one knows how good this title colud be, the same way no one knew how good Suzumiya haruhi was until it was turned into an anime.

In my opinion we should star on titles like that. nothing like grabbing your spade and digging up some gems in a location where people keep telling you there isn't anything worthy on that patch of land.

Zero Blitz · Post by **Zero Blitz** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 6:10 pm

Nandeyanen wrote:Zero Blitz: Well, you can't really say that Zero no Tsukaima, Shakugan no Shana, Seikai no Senki, etc. are definitively 'better' than this Hantsuki, as 'good' and 'bad' are really subjective, and are based solely upon a person's opinion... which is pretty much the reason we have this poll... anyways, back to the topic (and to answer your questions). Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora is a sweet romance with a bit of a melancholy undertone, since Rika is severely ill. I think that the main reason that I liked it was how it wasn't extremely happy, nor was it overly sad, it had a sort of a lifelike feel to it; There are ups and downs, and Rika's illness brings about the issue of the shortness of our life, and the inevitability of death. Anyways, for people who are interested the site is located here (it's in japanese) and has the cover images of the 6 books, as well as other bits of information.

I'm sorry if that's the way my post came across to you.

I thought people could see that it was a matter of personal opinion which is why I said "It sounds OK but I don't see it as being better / more interesting".

It was phrased from my views and there wasn't really much there to give people the idea that I'm saying everyone would believe it to be less interesting than the other options.

Personally, I'd love it if Air had been released in light novel form and that could be translated as I felt that the anime was done perfectly (there's some similarities between Air and Hanbun･･･) but sadly it's only released as a visual novel and anime in Japan (I think..) and I don't see Baka-Tsuki accomoating VNs any time soon. ;P

Zero no Tsukaima is more of an all-around kind of genre/style with a larger audience range while Hanbun･･･ may appeal to some but not others. I have no doubt that I'll probably find it pretty good but it looks like it will have less willing translators, editors and readers.

This is similar to the way that I thoroughly enjoyed the Iriya no Sora UFO no Natsu OVA but can see that not many people care for it here.

By the way, my comment was only meant to focus on the summary but I wasn't thinking properly at the time and worded it incorrectly.

harunako · Post by **harunako** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 5:19 pm

onizuka-gto wrote:Surprisingly, although the success of stereotypical comedy, sci-fi, romance animes is at an all time high, i don't the same can be said for the novel reading aspect which is why i doubt i see Tsukaima or UFO coming anytime soon.

Well my idea is that US publishers pick titles on a simpler criteria: whichever anime is a hit in US, its related novels will sooner or later be adopted. There is not really a specific genre which interest the US publishers more than the others. (Correct me if I am wrong.)

onizuka-gto wrote:So why Escape from school listed first?
well the lack of votes just reinforce the point that no one knows how good this title colud be, the same way no one knew how good Suzumiya haruhi was until it was turned into an anime.

In my opinion we should star on titles like that. nothing like grabbing your spade and digging up some gems in a location where people keep telling you there isn't anything worthy on that patch of land.

There are many criteria to pick translation titles, all of them with their downsides:

1. Star the poorly circulated series: We have no idea whether the low circulation is because the title is underrated, or simply lacks the substance.

2. Pick those whose anime looks exciting: Not a bad idea in itself, but really depends on the definition of exciting. If we pick only the hot animes of the day, we will end up having one-time hits that loses heat very quickly. (In my very very personal opinion, ZnT falls exactly into this catergory -- it never ranks high in my preference.) AND we will miss the great literature that got into the wrong animators' hands. (e.g. Hantsuki was paced too fast for its anime. Any Fate Stay Night fans around who do not think the anime does not do justice in showing the original story's full glamor?)

3. Pick titles based on polls: as our audience are fundamentally motivated by animation adoptions (they have only fansub animes to know what titles sound interesting), it would run into the same problem as (2).

4. Pick titles based on translators' preferences: I guess in the end this would be the ultimate criterion/barrier, depending on how you see it. Translators are human as well, and they won't be motivated to translate a title unless they themselves are convinced the title is appealing to them.

As a self-serving translator, my sad conclusion is that the audience is at a much lower level of power in influencing our adoption. To put it blunt, 100 readers saying that "Hey dude, this anime looks interesting to me, so translate this title!" makes little motivation in me, unless I find the title interesting to be translated myself. I definitely cater the audience's opinion to some extent -- I do not want the translation site to have 0 visitors. Unfortunately, an megahit title that hits all four criteria (such as Suzumiya Haruhi) and gains wide consensus that "this is good!" is rare in existence.

srintuar · Post by **srintuar** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 6:25 pm

For those voting, some tidbits of info:

Seikai no Senki
a classic that has stood the test of time, and is awesome.
But If you're not going to start from monshou, why bother.
Translation difficulty == HIGH, so translation will be slow, and you will net fewer translators

Shakugan no Shana
Recent, popular, and a nice unique universe. Better than the anime, imo

Iriya no Sora
Hantsuki
These stories are fairly depressing, imo. If you like that kind of thing its cool, but it can really wear some people down.

Zero no Tsukaima
Upbeat, fast paced, and all around fun. This is my favorite raito noberu ATM.

Betelgeuse · Post by **Betelgeuse** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 1:14 pm

Can I ask what is the point of this thread? It already seems very clear that the translators don't really care about the results of the poll and all the discussion is unlikely to make them like something. It seems more likely that they would be put off a novel due to people being excited about it.

SubordinateFive · Post by **SubordinateFive** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 1:28 pm

It's for people to put up their favorite series for translation and try to convince the translators to work on it.

harunako wrote:Translators are human as well, and they won't be motivated to translate a title unless they themselves are convinced the title is appealing to them.

Is there a certain title you'd like to see translated? If so, then tell the translators why it's so great...they might agree. (And be nice. After all, they are translating Suzumiya Haruhi—for free!)

onizuka-gto · Post by **onizuka-gto** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 1:43 pm

polls is to show translators important information of which series people enjoy. after all they are human, and if alot of people enjoy a series, they will naturally wonder why and have a look.

In the end, perhaps you might not be able to convince a translator, but that doesn't mean you won't be able attract one who will. mmm?

After all, the current translators aren't the only ones around, i'm sure there are plenty more out there, who simply don't want to undertake the whole project themselves.

With an open format like ours, we can offer the support and hosting, with an automated self editing system.

sounds like a pretty good deal to me, if i was a translator.

And i'm the lazy type. (^_^;)>

So don't be shy, if you have the ability to translate Japanese lingo and you wish we will undertake one of those titles, don't think about, contact us!

After all, if you want something done correctly, do it yourself.

(^^)

Zero Blitz · Post by **Zero Blitz** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 4:56 pm

harunako wrote:Well my idea is that US publishers pick titles on a simpler criteria: whichever anime is a hit in US, its related novels will sooner or later be adopted. There is not really a specific genre which interest the US publishers more than the others. (Correct me if I am wrong.)

That doesn't seem to be how they decide on how they pick novels...

I took a look at an anime/manga site that also sells translated novels and here's a list of what I found:

.Hack//A.I. Buster v1-2 - the anime isn't that popular; a large franchise: games, magazines, anime, OVAs, manga, music, figures.
.Hack//Another Birth v1 - same as above.
Blood - The Last Vampire - part of a franchise built around the unpopular anime movie.
Clamp school Paranormal investigators v1-3 - part of CLAMP's work, of course. couldnt find an anime.
Devil May Cry v1 - based on the games.
Fullmetal Alchemist v1-3 - extremely popular anime (which has been the highest rated anime for a long time now) and manga.
Ghost in the Shell - based on a large franchise that has been going on for a long time and is focused towards the more mature; includes popular movies, anime, games, etc.
Gravitation v1 - kind of popular anime among female audience due to yaoi nature.
Gundam SEED v1-3 - part of the large Gundam franchise which has been going on for years.
Junk Force v1-3 - based on a manga I don't know anything about...
Kamikaze girls - unknown? no anime as far as I can tell.
Love Hina v1-2 - anime that basically brought harem-anime into fashion.
Onegai Teacher v1-2 - average anime which doesn't hold much popularity.
Onegai Twins v1-2 - same as above.
Only the ring the finger knows v1-3 - I have no clue... not an anime in any case.
Rahxephon v1-4 - pretty good anime that didn't hold much/any popularity.
Slayers v1-6 - an anime that isn't rated very high on AniDB, I don't know anything about it's popularity.
Socrates in Love v1 - apparently a best seller in Japan and formed a tv show and manga over there.
Vampire Hunter D v1-4 - not very popular or highly rated movies or OVAs.

If you can read what ever patterns are there, you can probably tell that there is some overly-hyped stuff in there and that most of it is in connection to a large franchise. The reason for this is that these kinds of novels really aren't very popular in America (maybe the risk is too high in buying the licenses for good ones) and so there has to be a firm link in order for the fanbase of a particular series to actually buy it.

Some of them are total crap which only select few who like getting things they've never heard about will probably buy and some of them may have been good but do they same things that have been done so many times and thus were easy to license.

The only one connected to an anime that isn't part of a big franchise and can be called both brilliant and popular at the same time is Fullmetal Alchemist and that is also one of the only ones that can be called popular with no ties to any other popular anime. The only other one I could include is Love Hina and most of the popularity in that comes from how it started the interest in harem-anime.

Another thing I really want to note here: licensing a novel connected to a one season anime (12-14 eps) is rarely ever done. The only instances I could find above were the Onegai Teacher, Onegai Twins and Gravitation anime. I have absolutely no idea why they released Gravitation (maybe to attract more females to novels?...) and Onegai Teacher/Twins was probably done due to ease. There's just too much harem anime that it couldn't have been hard.

One more thing in relation to nearly all possible future projects: these companies seem to hate licensing novels that are much longer than their anime counter-parts for some reason. Maybe they don't like the risk of some people getting bored with it once they've gotten past where the anime stops and people getting annoyed because they stopped the novel mid-way through due to the people who got bored and thus stop buying from that company. I have no clue.

I've actually started having doubts when it comes to Haruhi getting licensed now... I want it to be licensed but when the decision comes most people will be bored of the anime due to it being so short. Even the best anime gets boring after repeated watches and with a 14 episode one which can be watched in under 5 hours straight through... I still think that the anime will be licensed but by the time it gets to America, the hype that led to us enjoying translations of the novel will have probably burnt out and they may not bother with it. (I hope otherwise)

Now that I think about it, how rare is it for a company to license an ongoing novel?

...another essay-length post. I really need to stop doing that... I don't really do it in these forums though. ;P

Hmm... Why is Seikai no Senki in the poll if the Seikai novels were licensed six months ago? The first volume release is Sept 12.

ばか！バカ！　馬鹿ー月！

First Future Project Poll

Which Series/Novels should we do next?

summary