THE MANGA DEBATE
The debate over English translations of manga has been going on since manga first started gaining popularity among English-speaking audiences. Obviously, there are plenty of manga purists who prefer to read their favorite series in the original Japanese. These are also the first people who will jump to criticize any translation of the manga in question; for them, it can never be good enough. Then there are those who are middle-of-the-road, like myself. Most people can't read the original Japanese, so we anime and manga fans have to settle for SOME type of translation. Still, we realize and acknowledge that many aspects of the series are often lost in translation. It's one of those give-and-take circumstances that we anime fans just have to put up with.
Prince of Tennis is no exception to the debate, and rightfully so. The translation by Viz, like most of their Shonen Jump series, is heavily Americanized for the benefit of the less fanatical readers. For example, characters refer to each other by only their first names. They almost never do this in the actual show, so besides losing some of the significance of the Japanese naming system, it grates on people who are already PoT fans. We're used to hearing Tezuka being referred to as Tezuka. Even if we know his first name is Kunimitsu, it throws us off to hear him being called such by teammates. Especially if the only time Fuji calls him 'Kunimitsu,' for example, is in schmaltzy shonen-ai fanfiction (i.e. it never happened). Enough said. XD
Additionally, there have been several outright errors in the translated volumes. Most of these are because of the kanji characters used in names, but some have been just plain careless. A good example would be the way the character Kabaji's first name was translated (which normally wouldn't have been used in the first place, but they use first names, remember! XD). Instead of being 'Munehiro,' the correct reading, it was translated as 'Takehiro.' Other examples include everything from a character addressing the wrong person to choices in tone that fell kind of flat. (Most notably, Tezuka's famous phrase "Become Seigaku's pillar of support!" just sounds less impressive when translated as "You can carry Seishun!")
Besides this, in an attempt to be "cool," some translators that clearly have no grasp of what passes for cool these days have tried to insert some very awkward slang phrases into the dialogue. Personally, I just can't see Sengoku saying something like "Come to papa!" or "That little booger." O_O (I do, however, support the weird translation where he says "Oh my lucky stars!" because anything associating Sengoku with leprauchans is just... amusing. XD) So not only is the Viz translation inaccurate in places, but it can also be just plain embarassing to read. -_-
That said, I still have taken the following stance on the translated manga: ALL English-speaking fans who cannot read Japanese should buy it. All of it. While I appreciate the value of fan translations for helping clear up the errors, they should not be used as a substitute for manga fans. Why? Simply put, the sales of the Viz manga are going to drastically effect future availability of the series in all its forms here in America. While I understand that many of the purists don't care about this, as they already buy the Japanese versions, it's VERY important to let Viz and the anime industry know just how much people love this series. Also, I must confess I have a debt to Viz for the translation of the first few volumes: when they came out in 2005, it was my first introduction to the series, and I fell head over heels in love with it after then researching it on the Internet to find out more about the anime version. So basically, without Viz's translation, this site would not exist.
There is one other thing to keep in mind, that applies to ALL PoT fans (and anime fans in general, really). And that is simply this: If you genuinely love the series, you should be BUYING it. I really mean this, with all my heart. I'm not trying to be strict or some killjoy "bash all downloaders!" person... This is EXTREMELY important for the series to continue to thrive and for its availability to expand worldwide. I don't care WHAT you're buying from it, whether it's the Japanese or English versions of any of the products, but if you are a PoT fan, you should certainly be buying SOMETHING. And for all of you fans, especially high school and junior high students, who are on a limited budget or cannot buy off of online stores or worry about the inconvenience of buying internationally off of sites like eBay, buying the Viz translation is the perfect solution. The books are available at bookstores everywhere, including convenient chains like Barnes & Noble and Borders (my personal fave other than my local comic book shop). And they're less expensive than the other graphic novels I buy, only $7.95 in the U.S. and $10.99 in Canada.
So, really, in my personal quest to answer the PoT manga debate, I have arrived at a simple conclusion: Yes, there are some problems with the Viz translation. But that's true of the English version of any manga, regardless of the company. And in this case, the accuracy of the translation is not the important thing. The important thing is the Prince of Tennis be given the recognition that it deserves. In the end, this just means that you support it monetarily in whatever way you chose. Period. If nothing else, buying the manga is a surefire way to enjoy Konomi Takeshi's exceptional artwork. And don't forget... The best thing about Prince of Tennis getting translated by Viz is that it means that even more people will become fans of the wonderful series that is PoT.
Like me. :)
