Total Localizer Death.
A Tokyo-based manga localization tech company, Orange Inc. just announced they’ve secured 2.92 billion Yen (around $19.5 million USD) in pre-Series A financing.
The funding round was spearheaded by Shogakukan, Globis Capital Partners, ANRI, SBI Investment, JIC Venture Growth Investments, Miyako Capital, Chiba Dojo Fund, Mizuho Capital, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and GFR Fund.
These funds will fuel the development of a manga localization product that leverages deep learning models and will hopefully culminate in the launch of Orange Inc‘s own digital manga store in the summer of 2024.
Led by Shoko Ugaki, Founder and CEO, Orange is an entertainment tech startup dedicated to revolutionizing the manga industry. Their focus lies in leveraging AI technologies to elevate localization efficiency and accessibility.
Their overarching mission is to combat online piracy of manga by expanding the availability of legal manga content for diverse demographics in English. Through close collaboration with various publishers, Orange Inc aims to broaden manga distribution channels, fostering a more vibrant and sustainable ecosystem for manga enthusiasts worldwide.
Plain and simply, employing the use of a machine that can translate well over ten entire volumes of manga every single day is far more viable and affordable than to hire translators who work far slower and more often enough subvert the source material with their own preferences.
Orange’s proprietary AI system is a game-changer, enabling the localization of up to 500 manga volumes PER MONTH from Japanese to English, a significant achievement for the industry.
Looking ahead, Orange is committed to broadening its reach by expanding into other languages. This expansion aims to ensure that manga enthusiasts worldwide can enjoy content in their native languages, free from the risk of colonization activists maliciously censoring or imposing their beliefs on translated products which has been an ongoing issue for Japanese produced media entertainment for decades.
Take, for example, a comparison between a Seven Seas Entertainment localized release of the Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai manga and an illegitimate fan translation. It’s evident that Uzaki herself wouldn’t refer to people as “broken-tongued bigots,” as portrayed in the official release, you don’t even need to speak Japanese to know that it just feels wrong.
This discrepancy underscores a genuine concern for the Japanese manga industry which is piracy. With a vast array of manga easily accessible to users through piracy, often with more accurate translations and uncensored content compared to legalized and commercialized English releases, why the fuck would you pay money for an inferior product infested with censorship and or western slang?
Which is why in the summer of 2024, Orange Inc hopes to debut “emaqi,” a digital manga store in the US featuring manga titles localized by Orange. “emaqi” will offer AI-driven recommendations and insights from manga influencers, promising a fresh and engaging experience for US manga fans.
Artifical Intelligence is truly a marvelous thing, while AI in its infancy might struggle to produce accurate translations one hundred percent of the time, it’s an ever evolving thing that’ll undoubtedly become more accurate let alone faster as time moves forward and as hardware advances.
Orange Inc themselves proclaim that using their deep learning solution to translate manga from Japanese to English reduces effective costs of localization by 90 percent.
Robots are undeniably more suitable for localization tasks when human translators lack the necessary mental fortitude for the job. Individuals like Katrina Leonoudakis, known for advocating that “localization” isn’t about teaching foreigners Japanese, have a point.
This is because most “localized” products from Japan frequently incorporate their own Western interpretations, deviating significantly from the original content.
Moving away from accuracy and authenticity, some localization practices focus on inserting jokes, slang, and references that only Western audiences would understand.
These individuals may claim to be fans, but don’t let them gaslight you. They are simply paid to translate, nothing more, and nothing less. Yet, repeatedly, they veer off track by inserting strange and inappropriate slang and euphemisms, shaping the media to cater to their own preferences rather than serving those who simply wish to enjoy the product as it was originally intended.
For true fans of Japanese media, whether it’s manga, anime, or games, receiving a faithfully translated product is paramount. Unfortunately, some malicious localizers inject their fanfiction into the translation, believing it to be humorous or edgy.
This has resulted in works like Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes and Unicorn Overlord being significantly altered in their English localizations, with characters’ personalities rewritten and lines such as “rub a dub dub” added, deviating wildly from the original script and effectively creating new entire characters.
Japanese gaming giants like Capcom, Square Enix, and SEGA now intentionally target the Western demographic, employing sensitivity readers and yielding to the demands of “localizers” to censor and alter their games from the very inception to avoid causing offense.
The rise of artificial intelligence poses a significant threat to these localizers, as it signals the end of their control.
They recognize that their jobs are at stake here, their colonizing stronghold over Japanese media is coming to an end and so too will their employment. Frankly, their demise is of little concern to me, I genuinely want to see these bastards suffer on the streets.
Despite having ample time to fulfill their sole duty of accurately translating products, they have failed to prove their worth. Instead, they’ve only ever produced modified content filled with Western slang, alienating consumers and causing Japanese companies to lose revenue and potential franchise opportunities.
Their agenda-driven translations not only diminish the integrity of the source material but have also led to consumers boycotting the product outright, resulting in lost sales and stalling franchise development. These localizers have squandered their chance to contribute positively to the industry and do not deserve to remain employed.
Orange Inc. is making ambitious plans, aiming to translate 50,000 volumes of manga within the next five years, the equivalent of a large manga café. Their goal is to reduce translation costs while simultaneously enhancing the quality of translations in a more time-efficient manner.
This approach will enable manga to be localized properly for commercial sale in quantities larger than ever before.
Orange Inc.’s research reveals that only approximately 2% of the manga released annually in Japan is formally translated and commercially available in English. This low percentage is partly attributed to the challenging and time-consuming translation process and the limited pool of translators available, majority of which are malicious colonizers who do irreputable damage to the final product.
Additionally, the global piracy market for manga reached $5.5 billion in 2022 according to the Content Overseas Distribution Association. This rampant piracy severely harms the industry and undermines the rights of talented creators and artists.
Orange’s objectives offer substantial benefits to the Japanese manga industry. With their approach, more Japanese manga will be commercially available, featuring accurate translations devoid of political bias or unnecessary Western influences, and delivered at a much faster pace.
Moreover, Orange aims to reduce translation costs by up to 90%. This initiative is advantageous for Japan and particularly for manga creators, who invest their passion and creativity into their work.
It’s worth noting that Japanese mangakas have one of the shortest average lifespans in the country, estimated to be around 20 years shorter than the average Japanese man, with an average lifespan of 62.6 years compared to 83 years.
To further cement this fact we recently lost one of the all time greats, Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball passed away just two months ago at the age of 68, still far below the average life expectancy of your average Japanese man.
Japan stands to benefit greatly by prioritizing machines over activists for translations. Not only would this lead to reduced costs, increased overheads but also provide them with a simplified translation processes, but it would also provide a compelling rationale for translating more franchises for commercial sale.
This approach would give fans outside of Japan a genuine incentive to support their favorite manga and creators, free from subversive localization. Thanks to the advancements in AI and the efforts of Orange Inc., they’re paving the way for a more authentic experience for manga enthusiasts worldwide driven by machines.
