#funimation con

11:30 AM - 12:30 AM (PDT) | Room 1 | Friday 3 July 2020

Panel Description: Ever wonder what it takes to translate anime? There’s a lot more to it than you’d think! Listen to a vivid experiential recollection of translating Japanese anime into English from one of the leading authorities in the field.

Host: Sarah Lindholm (Translator Funimation) 

Usual questions: How does the process start? What does translation at Funimation look like?

First things first, it helps the translator to know the story in advance. If you can, type out the solution to the mystery or give a full summary it helps the translators get a feel for how they frame the translation. So before simulcasting an anime, our team talks to the Japanese team that worked on the anime or manga and sends the manga to the translator to start analyzing the text and get the story right before we start re-scripting an anime to English. 

Things we’re looking for as we re-script/translate to English (or any other langauge): 

Jokes, puns, wordplay

Cultural references (original culture) 

Cultural references (referred culture) < ex. Animes set in france with french puns for the audience

Non-verbal cues)

Wordplay is the Devil’s Work: 

Case Example: Black Butler

Where do we start? First, look at background and setting: 

Where is it set? Set in Victorian England, 1888

Who are the main characters: Sebastian, a demon serving in the role of butler. Ciel, his young master. Claude, a rival demon butler in season 2. Alois, Claude’s young master.

Second, we look at important or recurring elements. In our case example (Black Butler) we have Sebastian’s catchphrase, “Akumade shitsuji desu kara,” which happens in nearly every episode. It features a double meaning to , ostensibly he’s saying “You see, I am but a mere butler.” But the exact same sentence pronounced or spelled slightly differently would mean “You see, I am a demon and a butler” because “akuma” means demon in Japanese. 

Remember that:

Listeners may take the statement differently based on their knowledge that Sebastian’s a demon.

If you don’t know he’s a demon, you will take the line for its actual meaning of him being a “mere butler.” If you know he is a demon, you will enjoy the double meaning of the text. 

Specific concepts to therefore be aware of is: demon, butler/servitude 

Miscellaneous factor: smugness of the character.

Therefore: “Akumade shitsuji desu kara.”

Literal meaning: You see, I am but a mere butler. 

Double meaning: “You see, I am a demon and a butler.” 

How would you translate it?

PUN BATTLE! Black Butler II

Claude’s (butler 2) catchphrase is “Danna-sama wo aku made musaboritai.” It is commonly addressed to Alios and it means “I want to gorge myself on you/devour you until I’m overfull.” But you can see it has the same “akumade” sound that Sebastian’s pun did, with “akuma” meaning “demon.” 

What do we do about translating? We break out the scratchpad! Different potential translations include: 

Non-Verbal Cues:

Case Example: Kase no Stigma

Visual Mismatch:

Result of missing a cue or of translating from the script only. 

Typically involves question & answer pairs

Breaks the story

When Up is Down and Right is Wrong

Context: Ren is grieving for a girl he couldn’t save. Ren’s older brother consoles him, “I think she was happy, in her way. [...] you made her into a living person.” Then he asks a question: “Sora ja fuman ka?” Ren shakes his head (the non-verbal cue). 

Now “right” is wrong! How? In English culture, shaking your head means “No.” But in the context of the story and Japan’s culture, the shake of the head is not “no” but that you’ve given me some piece. 

How do we mediate these right-wrongs? We like to do a watch-through to focus on the bigger picture. The questions we seek to answer are:

(Prewatch) What problems do you see coming up in the season that may need foreshadowing?

Does the video mess with the words you chose? Is there a lot of word play present in the current text?

Did you miss anything?

Is it too fast or to slow?

(We also do a general proofreading of the script!)

Another note: Idioms don’t translate well so you need to rewrite some lines to give you as similar an experience as possible. 

The Final Big Question: “What is Accuracy, really?”

Think of yourself as the characters and think of the experience the creator wanted. Where am I? Japan? France? Outerspace? What are the rules of those areas? How does the creator view the show (potentially)? What’s the genre?

A good tip is to watch a lot of movies and film criticism--it plays into your work a lot! Particularly in fitting the genre.

Another note: Google translation has played no effect in thus far in the profession of translating at Funimation simulcast department of translation. Google’s software still has many flaws in translating, and can’t describe the meaning of the sentence well enough to be useful. It is also particularly poor with idioms. 

Terminology: 

Case Example: Princess Jellyfish

Background:  THE AMA-ZU (the name of the group of geeky girls in Princess Jellyfish.) Ama with this kanji is “nun” and it is Japanese slang for a spinster (someone of marrying age but who’s never gonna to marry). It is also associated with the “b word.”

So, how do we translate this? Our answer: “The sisterhood” 

Why?

8:30 PM - 9:00 PM (PDT) | Room 2 | Friday 3 July 2020

Panel Description: Be the first to see Episode 1 of By the Grace of the Gods (subtitled) at this exclusive premiere event! Join us for the official unveiling of the fantasy isekai anime based on the light novel series of the same name from Roy and Ririnra.

Trailer: 

My Review (@peggyseditorial): OKAY--we all know I love this series, right? Because I posted about the manga of this, Kamitachi ni Hirowareta Otoko, about a month ago. I mean, it’s an isekai with virus fighting slimes! What’s not to love?

I got to watch the premier with Casea, our new contributor (@madamekrow) and she said that this isekai was the perfect example of the anime life she would live or want to exist in. I’d say same, except I’m a germaphobe... but then again, with disinfecting slimes and slimes that eat bugs, and slimes that do so many things that slime don’t normally do--I think I’d agree. 

The series opening was leisurely and enjoyable! It was paced well, giving the feeling of being relaxed but not boring. I mean, it didn’t feel like 30 minutes and was easy to slip into audience immersion. 

Animation wise, the premier was fantastic. Rather than static panels, we always see some sort of moving element, from wobble slimes, to slight hair movement creating the feel of a breeze passing by at certain moments. The first episode covers Chapters 1 and 2 in the manga. 

The series is set to release sometime in October of 2020 and given the preview I just watched, I’m sure the series will be enjoyable! Essentially: 

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM (PDT) | Room 2 | Saturday 4 July 2020

Panel Description: Do titles like Sword Art Online, The Promised Neverland, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, or the Fate series make your otaku heart skip a beat? Then you don’t want to miss the Aniplex of America Industry Panel! Join us as we bring you the latest news on all your favorite Aniplex shows from the comfort of your home – and ours!

Something that’s pretty awesome and happening RIGHT NOW is that Funimation Con is featuring Day 1 of Aniplex Online Fest in Room 2 (all day!) Since I hopped on, Aniplex has been playing some great music between panels. You can also view it live on YouTube (LINK).

At this industry panel, audiences were joined by Anthony Foronda and Rose Iwai, both are marketing specialists at Aniplex USA. They discussed new and returning releases for the year!

Some Popular Anime Releases/Returns:

Kaguya-Sama Love is War - Box Set release! You can also watch the series now on Funimation! We recommend seeing Mother's Basement review/analysis on the series after you watch the season. 

The Misfit of Demon King Academy - a personal favorite of mine that has been mentioned several times today (SO PLEASE GO WATCH IT--I/WE NEED MANY SEASONS OF THIS)

SAO: Alicization War of Underworld - this is the final season of SAO: Alicization. It airs on 11 July 2020. (Heads up, I saw a tentacle wrapped around Sugu’s character in the trailer, though it went fast so I could be wrong… still, I feel the need to warn you all)

The Millionaire Detective - Balance: UNLIMITED - IT’S BACK! 30 July on Funimation! In the meantime, you can enjoy some of the series’ fantastic music on YouTube. I love Okamoto’s song, “Welcome My Friend” (so maybe start there? :-D)

Other Announcements: 

Aniplex launches Aniplex NEXT! Aniplext NEXT is a new streaming project which aims to inform fans about Aniplex's latest shows, games, and merchandise to the public quicker. Two versions of the program will be simultaneously streamed via Aniplex's official YouTube channel, one in Japanese and the other with English subtitles for the global audience! 

On a final note...

8:30 AM - 9:00 AM (PDT) | Room 1 | Friday 3 July 2020

Panel Description: A whole new summer anime season has begun, and with so much good content to stream, we’ll give you an idea where to start. We’ll also stop by The Funimation Shop to see what’s coming soon, peek at some stunning new home video collections, and more.

Host: Lauren Moore (Production Manager at Funimation)

Notes to highlight: 

1. The first Mexico and Brazilian stream for Funimation will be spanish dubbed Tokyo Ghoul; Re. 

2. Mars Red coming in 2021. Mars Red is based on a stage reading play written by Bun-O Fujisawa. According to Funimation, it is “Based on a dramatic stage reading from the playwright and theatre director Bun-O FUJISAWA, MARS RED will be the first anime in history to come from this type of source material, and serves as the 50th Anniversary project for YTE. It’s also part of a mixed media rollout, including a manga that debuted in Japan in 2019.” Read more here.

Returning Shows:

Fruits Basket Season 2 Continues

New Black Clover Arc coming up

More One Piece - Eps. 588-600 Dub will be coming out soon

Fire Force Season 2 

SAO Alicization War of Underworld Part 2 

No Guns Life Season 2 

The Millionaire Detective - Balance: Unlimited Ep. 3 premieres 30 July 

Appare-Ranman! Season 1 resumes

A Certain Scientific Railgun T dubs resuming

Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater - resumes 28 July

Bungo and Alchemist - Gears of Judgement - returns 4 July

New Shows: 

Super Hxeroes premiers 3 July on Funimation

Deca-Dence is an original anime from Funimation releasing soon

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!

LAPIS Re:Lights - premiers 4 July

Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation 

New to the Library:

The Promised Neverland dubbed is now available on Funimation.

Naruto subs and dubs comes to Funimation starting 6 July

More Streaming News:

By the Grace of the Gods coming this fall!

Adachi and Shimamura

Higurashi: When They Cry - New is coming this Fall

Maesetsu! Opening Act coming this Fall

Our Last Crusade or The Rise of a New World 

Ikebukuro West Gate Park coming this Fall

Dropout Idol Fruit Tart set to be released soon

Funimation Films for Release: