On Tue, 30 Sep 1997, Jesse Smith wrote:

>> From: Chris Rijk <chris@ivision.co.uk>
>
>I said:
>>> available, but the other day I saw a flyer for a local anime club
>>> showing a *fansubbed* Ranma 1/2 *episode 1*.  Why???  I'm making it a
>>> point *not* to ever associate with that club as a matter of
>>> principle.
>
>> Were they just doing ep 1? They probably did especially to show all
>> the stuff Viz mangled up... if they won't provide copies of it, then
>> I
>> don't see much wrong with it, myself. Also, doing part 1 is hardly
>> going to hurt Viz's sales much, now - heck it might increase them...
>> providing they're not copying that fan-sub.
>
>Maybe... the episode was entitled "That Guy from China - He's Kinda
>Weird", which I've *never* heard associated with the first episode.
>It's always "Here's Ranma!" or "Ranma Arrives" or some such.

I think it was "Ranma has arrived. The guy from China's a little odd"
(been over a year since I last watched ep 1 though, so I don't really
remember the Japanese)


>But isn't part 1 of the manga "Ranma Kita" translated as "Ranma Came"?
>Why is it is the past tense?

"Ranma has arrived"


>> Actually, I've thought more than once of translating chapters 1 and
>> 2 of the Ranma 1/2 manga.
>
>What is the general etiquette about distributing translations?

Etiquette? Depends what you want to do... many just translate the text
and thats it, though some decide to translate the sound effects, and
describe things where translating a particular naunce of the Japanese
language can't be done, or some necessary cultural stuff. Some also
decide to add scene descriptions... not all people have web accounts
and some just post to a news groups, though it's better to have a
'original site' and in every translation give directions to your site
for more, and more up to date translations and futher info.

Also, don't forget to indicate who the original author is and
publisher, and give them full credit and copyright powers. Should also
add that people must not use the translation in any way for profit, or
money whatsoever. Might want to add that if you translate something,
you own the right to that _translation_ but not the original work in
any way.

I also encourage people to buy the manga for themselves, else they
miss out on half the fun, and provide information on how to get it for
themselves. If lots of people read your stuff, you'll probably get
lots asking you how to get it anyway. (I've had more than one person
thinking _I_ was Viz!!)

Some time ago, I spent quite a long time talking to various Japanese
people about translations and other issues (such as scans)... as far
as I know, the original authors and publishers probably won't mind
much, though if somebody has the copyright in the west, they may ask
you to stop - though I haven't gotten anything myself, and since the
law is kinda grey in this area, you don't necessarily have to... I
think. Luckily, I'm in the UK, so anyone has to go through UK law, and
such (and there is much less anime/manga released in the UK, and much
fewer UK liscenes held, and those are pretty much only for anime),
which makes things a little easier - the UK law isn't so biased
towards the bigger companies/organisations from what I've heard.


>I'm gradually working on translating Ranma 1/2 from the beginning for my
>own enjoyment and education, and I thought, once I'm done, it might be
>useful for other students of Japanese if I shared my experiences.  But
>I wouldn't want to step on Viz's toes by putting it on my web page,
>and I want to encourage people to support Viz's translations...

Give a link to Viz's home page... tell people that Viz do a great job,
etc etc... tell them how to get Viz's stuff and how it's so easily
available...and so on.

If you're still worried, I could put the translations up for you.  I'm
currently setting something up so that people can edit stuff remotely
on my site, even though I can't give you a unique account.

You could also post it anonymously to a newsgroup without giving any
details about yourself... pretty hard to track... though I can't
remember the details to do this off hand, or where to find it.


--
+---- Chris Rijk --- chris@ivision.co.uk --- http://www.wot-club.org.uk/ ----+
| Dictionary of Alternative Meanings: liberal                                |
| A man who is too broad-minded to take his own side in a quarrel.           |