Off-topic, but something that I found interesting.  Feel free to shoot me 
down if you think its too common to merit mentioning.
 

Anyway, I've picked up the first few books in the Five Star Stories manga 
that has been recently released in the US (books 1-3 make up the original 
vol. 1, apparently).  There are various and sundry odd things about the manga 
(the inside front cover of the three books in volume 1 contain the basic plot 
outline of volume 1 in a single paragraph, for example - my guess is that 
this is from the original), but there was one that I found unusual in a 
translated product.
 
All of the "sound effects" were left in their original katakana.  So, for 
example, if a cloak twirls, instead of having the "fwip" (or whatever sound 
is used) sound effect translated into its closest approximation in English 
(replacing the katakana in a similar style/layout), the original katakana is 
still in place.  Then if you're curious as to what you just heard, you flip 
to the back of the book, look through the various shrunken panels for the one 
that matches the panel you just left, and examine the caption below the panel 
to find out what the sound effect sounds like, and what exactly that sound is 
supposed to represent.
 
Different, but since the sound effects are often part of the original panel 
artwork, it definitely makes sense.
 

Also of note - sometimes the characters will mutter something or give a quick 
quip that reveals their inner thinking.  They're never more than a short 
sentence, and they're usually somewhat humorous in content.  They're always 
found outside the speech bubbles, and they're written in fairly small size.  
These have been left in the original, as well, and in such cases, a small 
caption has been added just outside the panel that gives an English 
translation.
 

Definitely worth a look, if nothing else.  I know some of the people here 
will probably not be interested for various reasons (Setting is feudal 
high-tech, with the associated classes of society, and technology, including 
rare mecha, in the hands of the powerful.), but it wouldn't hurt to take a 
look at what Toypress (I think that's who is releasing it) has done with this 
particular translated release.
 

junior