How Do You Become A Manga Translator?
The guy above me is wrong. Translations are done in whatever location the books are published (it’s more important that the translators know how to express nuances in the local dialects than it is for them to know Japanese – as long as they ALSO know Japanese very well lol). Also, the translations are usually done by freelancers – not direct employees of the publisher – who are working in tandem with the local editor for that particular series. For manga translated to English, most of that is done in the US (by VIZ, Tokyopop, Del Rey, etc). I also know that VIZ has a European branch (I think it’s just called “VIZ Europe”?). My suggestion would be contacting them & asking them directly how you can get a freelance gig translating the tankobons for a particular series (tankobons are the original Japanese editions) into French or Spanish. Having a translation portfolio would definitely help… but because the market is so young over there, you might be able to make it in without one. But b
