Bungaku Shoujo

[Kinny Riddle]

*Rolls eyes*

According to Denshi Jisho:
http://jisho.org/words?jap=bungaku&eng=&dict=edict
文学 - literature

How on earth do these guys manage to translate that as "book"??

With the way they're already treating this series with this sort of contempt, I have an urge to ignore their C&D and carry on with our own, more respectable, translations.

Just read Volume 2. Yet another great chapter, the theme for this volume is Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Most of the characters even seem to have parallel lives to the characters from said novel, though the ending is a different twist altogether.

[Matt122004]

I think it can be agreed that "Book Girl and The Suicidal Mime" makes for an awkward title.

However, I do think that whoever wrote "Are they trying to destroy the light novel industry?" has no clue for what he is discussing.

What we are witnessing here is the long awaited resurrection of the industry.

Remember, it was TokyoPop who first (I believe) decided that light novels would be the next big thing. But they jumped the gun, licensed a boat load of series, and began releasing with expectations of grandeur.

They didn't market correctly and ultimately, a large part failed.

Seven Sea's and even Viz jumped in to attempt it. But they too failed.

Then we had the period where we were hearing the publishers say "It's impossible. Light novels won't sell. Their too culturally different. Their a failure. Were sorry."

Finally, Yen Press showed up on the scene with the license of Haruhi. That made a few waves. Could this be the book needed for a resurrection?

Soon after, we heard from them that they had licensed Spice and Wolf. BOOM. People went ecstatic. We knew then that once again, another publisher believed that Light Novels could succeed. But this time, they could study from past mistakes and learn. Then they also licensed "Kieli", although it was less publicized. It still showed they had a goal.

So did it pay off?

According to an interview on an ANN podcast, yes. YenPress reports that Haruhi and Spice and Wolf are selling much better than they expected. A look at the rankings on say B&N shows that Haruhi was selling in the range Manga normally do (the good selling manga), and Spice and Wolf was in the range of average selling manga. Tremendous sale results for light novels, not seen before. Kieli because of not being a part of a known franchise and not receiving much publicity, while selling good, basically just met average. But that's probably all they expected it to.

Point is, Yen Press regardless of their title translation or book covers, is succeeding. And that is great. It means that they can keep licensing specific titles wisely and actually make a profit off of it. This is inspiring publishers like TokyoPop to continue, who recently released Trinity Blood ROM #3, GOSICK #2, and will be releasing Trinity Blood RAM #4 this July, as well as plans to release FMP Book 4 this coming February (not to mention they also are still releasing .//hack LN's). Seven Seas plans to release Kanokon eventually, as well as hopes for Zero no Tsukaima perhaps.

The biggest evidence of change in the LN Industry is the fact that at my local B&N store, Spice and Wolf is in plain view, stacked cover showing, in the "NEW FANTASY" aisle for everyone to see.

Time's be a changing.

If there's one thing important, its this. Buy the official releases. Do NOT. I repeat, Do NOT say "Well, if the title isn't just right or the cover isn't just right, I won't buy it." That's just stupid and you know it. What counts is the text inside the book. As long as the translation itself is decent, fans should buy the book to support it's English edition.

My biggest concern for this novel, which I haven't read yet, is that the cover should be good. I bought the Japanese book before I knew it was licensed, and I really like the cover. I'm hoping YenPress does it justice. But even if they don't, I'll of course still buy it. I'm pretty pleased with the translations for Spice and Wolf and Haruhi. I haven't read Kieli yet, although I have it. lol

(By the way, anyone else noticed how were getting 3 mystery novels this year? lol Gosick 2, Zaregoto 2, and now Bungaku Shoujo. 2010: Year of Mystery)

[Kinny Riddle]

Fair enough, Matt. Won't argue that they're doing good business and helping the LN industry go overseas.

But seriously, "Book Girl"? Someone really needs to speak to them on this.

And I remember a while back, YenPress was ridiculed (especially by Sankaku) for their choice of cover art for Spice and Wolf. Rather than the moe Horo from the Japanese release, they opted for an "adult Harry Potter version" artwork.

[ShadowZeroHeart]

I disagree with what Matt said, to some extent at least.

Indeed, Yen Press has shown that light novels can sell, and is indeed a great sign. Their selection of LN to sell is good too. However, I do not like generalising things, products and all. Singers may sing some good songs, but not all songs sang by these singers will naturally be good. Similarly, though they have done well so far, it doesnt mean they will continue to do so.

Having good LN as of now is a great thing, but if they pull off a really bad translation now, at one of the most famed LNs in Japan, people will get the wrong impression, while at the same time companies can have a bad impression that perhaps LN may not do as well as they had seen previously. So it might be a little dangerous...

[Darklor]

So in the end they havent provided a version with a different cover?

[RandomPasserBy]

haruhi and spice and wolf could sell well, maybe because their anime is well known already
so people who didn't know the original can buy it just to fullfill their curiousity and enjoy it just like that

i know it's not good comparing one another, but i can't help it you see...

yeah i haven't read the licensed version of haruhi, etc, yet, and i don't know exactly the quality of Yen Press...
so all i can do now is wondering... "will this book turn out to be as good as the original?"
and now see the title... it already feel so wrong!!
that's why i'm getting more and more anxious about the completed product of Book Girl >.<

it should be okay if only the title is off... and not the content...

and pardon my bad english m(_ _)m

[ShadowZeroHeart]

haruhi and spice and wolf could sell well, maybe because their anime is well known already
so people who didn't know the original can buy it just to fullfill their curiousity and enjoy it just like that

i know it's not good comparing one another, but i can't help it you see...

yeah i haven't read the licensed version of haruhi, etc, yet, and i don't know exactly the quality of Yen Press...
so all i can do now is wondering... "will this book turn out to be as good as the original?"
and now see the title... it already feel so wrong!!
that's why i'm getting more and more anxious about the completed product of Book Girl >.<

it should be okay if only the title is off... and not the content...

and pardon my bad english m(_ _)m

Though the content is important, we must remember, the title bungaku shoujo is well-known in Japan. As you mentioned, Spice and Wolf and Haruhi have their anime adaptations, that boosted their fame. However, Bungaku Shoujo is another case altogether. Though there is going to be an adaptation, it will not be a series if i recall, and might not do as well to gain popularity like the rest. So the novel is really going in solo this time, and customers who never heard of the title would have to decide whether to try it based on the title alone... So... the title is a total flop? and things dont bode well...

[shade424]

wow, just looked at the summary for the first volume on Yen Press' website. First time I've ever heard of a book goblin. sounds really... unfitting. And yes, a suicidal mr.mime and a book girl is just as unfitting.

Here is the actual thing from yenpress...

Spoiler! :

For Tohko Amano, a third-year high school student and self-styled “book girl,” being the head of the literary club is more than just an extracurricular activity. It’s her bread and butter…literally! Tohko is actually a literature-gobbling demon, who can be found at all hours of the day munching on torn out pages from all kinds of books. But for Tohko, the real delicacies are hand-written stories. To satisfy her gourmet tastes, she’s employed (rather, browbeaten) one Konoha Inoue, who scribbles away each day after school to satisfy Tohko’s appetite. But when another student comes knocking on the literary club door for advice on writing love letters, will Touko discover a new kind of delicacy?

I believe you saw book gobbling, its not book goblin... book gobbling means book eating...

I think yenpress's whole summary is unfitting. The summary on the baka-tsuki page is a lot better. Yenpress makes it seem like the focus of the entire book is Tooko and her habit, when the focus is actually on Takeda and the mystery she's hiding about her senpai. Yenpress hardly mentions her at all.
Also, Suicidal Mime...I could let the suicidal part slide, but mime? Maybe "clown", or even better "fool", but mime? I don't want to let translating bungaku into book slide either, but hopefully I'll get used to it. And the way they spelled Tohko just looks awkward.
But at least their site says they'll release a new volume every January and July, so I don't think I can complain too much. Hopefully the bad translations are limited to just the title.

[RandomPasserBy]

somebody please tell me...
will thi really become the cover?
http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/92/bookgirlmime.png
i'm.... speechless

[ShadowZeroHeart]

somebody please tell me...
will thi really become the cover?
http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/92/bookgirlmime.png
i'm.... speechless

... Creepy... When did it become such a novel...

Where did you find this...?

[RandomPasserBy]

i found that when lurking in a local forum... but there's no real explanation there, so i thought i'd ask here since this forum should know better about novels...
orz

[Kresnik]

somebody please tell me...
will thi really become the cover?
http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/92/bookgirlmime.png
i'm.... speechless

Did they have the illusion that this is another Sherlock Holmes series..?
Maybe I'll just continue translating, contact my local publisher and have them published it instead.
That ought to give a certain publisher on how to handle a literature.
But I don't think that my local publisher is going to do a well job either..

[Guest]

So has anyone read the released novel now? How does the translation stack up to Baka-Tsuki?

[RIP OM]

bungaku shoujo ova released subbed. http://www.watchanimeon.com/bungaku-sho ... episode-1/
background to volume 1
is it actually apart of the LN story or is it noncanon?
it doen't seem like it

[cheebuguh]

Well, this is an old thread and all.. but I just picked up this series.

It's too bad that the project had to end, but at least Yen Press will still translate it, even though I'll have to wait until 2014 to finally reach the end of the story. I wonder if I'll even still be interested in this stuff by that time.

Since the second volume is coming out in a few months, and I'm considering to buy it. I'm just curious to see if anyone has read Yen Press's translation. BT's translation was satisfying, is Yen Press's translation just as good? (Other than the title, of course...)