Tag Archives: Translation

Sailor Moon Editor Fumio “Osabu” Osano Discusses the Series’ Creation

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Filed under Articles, Interview, Making Of, Manga
The Sailor Team

The Sailor Team

Whether you’re a casual fan of the series or a dyed-in-the-wool Moonie, you have to admit that very few anime series do birthdays quite like the Sailor Moon franchise does.

The June 30, 2019 event was no different, with a slew of large announcements awaiting eager fans, including some tantalizing glimpses of the character art for the upcoming Sailor Moon Crystal movie, led by the 90s Sailor Moon art director veteran Kazuko Tadano, as well as information on a Sailor Moon ice show, cafe, and more.1

But in addition to offering this exciting images of Sailor Moon‘s future, we were also lucky enough to get a “behind the curtain” look at the creation of the series through the eyes of Naoko Takeuchi’s Nakayoshi editor, Fumio “Osabu” Osano, via an interview with the Japanese pop culture news site, Natalie.2

There’s a lot of interesting background information here that I wanted to share, so I decided to translate the whole interview across several parts. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

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What Is Sailor Saturn’s Attack – Death Reborn / Ribbon Revolution?

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Filed under Articles, Hotaru Tomoe, Language
Death R_b__n Revolution!

Death R_b__n Revolution!

It never fails to amaze me just how popular Sailor Saturn is within the Sailor Moon universe despite how little “screen time” she gets in both the anime and the manga. While things played out for her a little better in book form, she is sadly one of the only members of the Sailor Team to have never make it into one of the movies. Poor girl.

And yet even with all that popularity and fan attention, we still find ourselves debating what should be the simplest of questions: what is the name of her ultimate attack, and what does it even mean?

Today we’re going to dissect Hotaru Tomoe’s one-and-done Infinity Arc attack, Death R_b__n Revolution, and settle this issue once and for all.1 If you’re a fan of the Mistress (9) of Death, you’ll want to stick around!

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3 Problematic Names in Sailor Moon Translations

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Filed under Articles, Fandom, Language, Lists, Making Of
Usagi's got some serious questions here

Usagi’s got some serious questions here

One thing that I find fascinating is the concept of what is the “official” Sailor Moon translation. In North America alone, both the anime and manga have had a whopping three different officially licensed adaptations since hitting this side of the Pacific.1

This, of course, doesn’t even take into account all of the subtitled versions, scanlations, and other fan-established terminology.

So what’s the right answer, and why is it so hard for all these qualified translators to “get it right”?

Today we’re going to take a look at some of the more challenging names to translate in Sailor Moon, and about some of the strategies used to get around them. Be sure to take notes — there might be a test at the end!2

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What Is a Sailor Yell? The Sailor Star Song Explained

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Filed under Anime, Articles, Making Of, Music
A Sailor... Yell??

A Sailor… Yell??

Despite having debuted over 25 years ago, Moonlight Densetsu still consistently ranks in the top 100 songs played in karaoke.1 While it may be the pride and joy of the Sailor Moon fandom, there’s always been a special place in my heart for its oft-forgotten younger sibling, Sailor Star Song.

The song is probably best remembered for setting the dramatically different tone of Sailor Moon‘s fifth and final season, as well as for… well… bordering on being nonsensical.

But today I hope to change that.

Though I may not be able to explain what makes this song so awesome, I hope to at least shed a little light about the story Ms. Takeuchi was trying to tell through her lyrics.

Read on as we discuss just what’s involved in a good, proper Sailor Yell, and how you can give one too!

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What Did Sailor Moon’s Animators Think of the Anime’s Nudity?

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Filed under Anime, Articles, Interview, Making Of, Real World
I still find it shocking that this is official art by Naoko

I still find it shocking that this is official art by Naoko

If you grew up in the pearl-clutching 80s and 90s in North America, the very concept of nudity appearing in a children’s cartoon was absolutely unfathomable. Exposed flesh on a children’s cartoon? Oh, my word!!

That was one of the biggest shocks for me — and I’m sure many of you — when I first started watching anime in the late 90s: the fact that my favorite characters are here, transforming, battling, or just flying around naked… and it’s all just so normal.1

But one thing that I’ve always wondered is: what did the production staff think about all this? Fortunately for us, Kimiharu Obata,2 key animator for several episodes of Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R, has kindly put pen to paper to talk about this very issue. Feel free to read this in the office — it’s absolutely SFW!

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What Happens When Google Translates Sailor Moon?

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Filed under Articles, Blog, Language
Google Translated Sailor Moon is truly a thing of beauty

Google Translated Sailor Moon is truly a thing of beauty

Between the anime, manga, games, musicals, live action TV show, audio dramas, and more, there’s a massive volume of Sailor Moon material still left untranslated, and there are many fans out there eager to try to pick up the slack and bring their favorite series to an even bigger audience.

So what’s a fan with all the passion, but not exactly the proper language skills, to do? Well, that’s where Google translation usually comes in.

Today, we’re going to take a look at several key scenes in the Sailor Moon manga and run them through our good friend Google Translate. While we look at the results, I’d like to discuss the pros, cons, and provide a few suggestions about how people can help out in bringing Sailor Moon to other fans in their own language.

Grab a cup of coffee, because things are gonna get a bit weird!

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2018 Announcements: Tuxedo Unmasked Book, Naoko Translations and More!

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Filed under Blog, Patreon
♪ Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes! Turn and face the strange ♪

♪ Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes! Turn and face the strange ♪

If 2017 was a year of improvements, then I want 2018 to be a year of facing new challenges. Yes, challenges. There are a lot of exciting new things coming to Tuxedo Unmasked this year, and I hope you’ll join me along for the ride!

So, what new things are coming? Glad you asked!

  • A Tuxedo Unmasked book covering the 90s Sailor Moon anime is in the works
  • I’m translating Naoko’s liner notes from the original manga releases
  • Translations of interviews with Naoko and others will now be a regular feature

Of course, as we all know, the devil is in the details. Read on to find out what excitement awaits us in 2018!

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