When I am reading LN translations, I often have to sit and stare at the text, confused, wondering whether the unfathomable passage I am reading is a problem with the source text or the result of an inadequate translation. There are many moments like this in, for example, the Monogatari series, written by the same author as this book and translated by the same company (albeit not by the same translator).
In this book, those moments of confusion basically do not exist. And that should end the review--the book is worth your money. But perhaps there is another feature of this translation worth talking about.
Strewn throughout the text, on almost every page, are footnotes which note and sometimes explain the literal Japanese term for a word or phrase. Some of these function as traditional TL notes (such as a footnote explaining how "kitsune" and "tanuki" are alike), but most act as a sort of alternate translation. My first impression of the footnotes was that they were a sort of apology for non-literal translations in the text--not that the translator needs to apologize for his work here. But they also act as the opposite: sometimes, the translation is so perfect that the footnote feels like a brag, as where the translation renders a term literally meaning "preliminary research" as "due diligence."
Such notes are risky because they expose how the sausage is made. LN translations are generally opaque, and hopefully Vertical's transparency won't be held against them (or against the translator).
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 2, 2021
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Top reviews from other countries
Amazons Best Customer
Good Read, Specific Audience
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 10, 2019Edo Alc
Epico hasta el mas minimo detalle
Reviewed in Mexico 🇲🇽 on August 22, 2019
Edo Alc
Reviewed in Mexico 🇲🇽 on August 22, 2019
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Roxanne
Amazing novel, amazing translation
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 24, 2019
Space-Mikado-the-Great
Enfin une version traduite!
Reviewed in France 🇫🇷 on January 11, 2019Daiima
Indispensable pour les amateurs du Japon médiéval
Reviewed in France 🇫🇷 on April 18, 2022
