--- Maison Ikkoku Guidebook: Viz Translations Copyright 1996 by the Misery Loves Company (see the full copyright notice in part 1 of this guidebook) ______________________________________________________________________________ ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ============================================= == == == Maison Ikkoku Around the World - Part 2 == == Viz Translations == == == ============================================= @english English: ------- In the English language, you already know about the English MI Guidebook. Also available on paper are many synopses by people such as Dan Durkin and C Sue Shambaugh. I haven't seen their work (for the most part), so I can't comment or make any descriptions about it. You'll have to find out for yourself! :) A few years ago, Arctic Animation took on the task of fan subtitling the entire MI series. They started in 1988 and finished by the end of 1991. Of course, the quality of the subbing wasn't the greatest (some would say even worse things about it), but, on the bright side, the professional subtitlers know that fans are more likely to choose the legitimate version (if it comes out) over a "lousy" AA sub. In the English world the only legitimate translation of MI is the manga version produced by Viz Comics. For more comments and opinions about Viz's efforts, please see further below. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Patrick Jones gave me this information from the pages of the Viz translation (taken from the issues available in 1993): General Viz Credits for Maison Ikkoku ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Story and Art by Rumiko Takahashi Translation: Gerard Jones & Matt Thorn Touch-Up Art and Lettering: Wayne Truman Cover Design: Viz Graphics Editors: Satoru Fujii, Jorn Togashi, & Trish Ledoux Executive Editor: Seiji Horibuchi Publisher: Masahiro Oga First Published by Shogakukan, Inc. in Japan Executive Editor: Katsuya Shirai Copyright Rumiko Takahashi and Shogakukan Inc., 1993 MAISON IKKOKU is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. No unauthorized reproduction allowed. The stories, characters and incidents mentioned in this publication are entirely fictional. Printed in Canada Published by Viz Comics P.O. Box 77010, San Francisco, CA 94107 Departures from General Credits Part I, Issue 1: Trish Ledoux not listed as an editor Part I, Issues 1-3: In Copyright Information, had "RANMA 1/2" instead of "MAISON IKKOKU" as a trademark of Viz Communications --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Viz Press Corps: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Clifford "Tenchi-Kun" Caoile on April 1st, 1994, reports: Here are the issues I think are coming up from Viz: [All summaries are copied verbatim from the Viz-In Magazine (1 page gatefold/poster with quality cover art spanning one side). No titles in Viz MI are avail as yet. Also, Advanced Comics magazine has *mistyped* summaries of Viz and Dark Horse Manga comics coming out. I hope I'm not "stepping on anybody's toes!" ^_^ ] Part 2.04 [My own cataloging system] due out 94 April 5 "What with the aging wood and the ancient foundations, Maison Ikkoku is starting to show his age..." [can the gender of a house be male?] "...When Kyoko's parents make it their personal mission to convince her to quit and 'move on with her life', Maison Ikkoku's lovely manager must find a way to set down some roots..." This will probably be parts 3.05 and 3.06 in the normal compilation of MI. Part 2.05 due out 94 May 2 (?) "Resisting her parent's best efforts to make her quit her job as manager at Maison Ikkoku, Kyoko has to deal once again with their loving machinations. Everything from a false terminal illness to gripe sessions at Soichiro's grave site are used to convince the lovely landlord to throw in the towel as the mother/daughter feud enters Round Two. Will Kyoko be able to go the distance...?" This will probably be parts 3.07 and 3.08. Part 2.06 due out 94 June (unsure..) "Final Issue! Romantic rivals Yusaku and Mitaka go head to head in a game of doubles. How will Kyoko react to the midgame proposal from Mitaka...?" And this will probably be parts 3.09 and 3.10, which finishes the normal compilation versions 1-3. Hopefully, Viz will continue to put out the manga translated. But I am worried. Part 1 of MI consisted of 7 issues, while Part 2 decreased to 6. I know Battle Angel Alita, Ranma 1/2 have all "upped" their issues on each part. For example: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Currently available (As of this Apr 94) BBAlita 9 7 13 3.06 Ranma 1/2 7 11 13 3.05 Maison Ikkoku 7 6 hope! 2.04 If not, well, their's always the original manga and your hardwork and effort on the MI FAQ. (Thanks in advance!) ------- Tarigan on April 2nd wrote: Clifford "Tenchi-Kun" Caoile wrote: > "What with the aging wood and the ancient foundations, > Maison Ikkoku is starting to show his age..." [can the > gender of a house be male?] Ma de'esse! As everyone knows, "Maison" is feminine in French. > Hopefully, Viz will continue to put out the manga > translated. But I am worried. I have mixed feelings about this. To date, I have never bought an issue of the translated Maison Ikkoku, and I haven't bought any Viz comics in over a year. The only thing I will buy from them is Nausicaa. (Well okay, I admit to buying a few issues of Animerica here and there...) Still, any current translation of MI keeps this manga in the public's eye and helps its popularity grow. That is at least one thing I like about what Viz is doing. ------------- From: Subject: [MI] Viz TPBs Date: Sun, 4 Dec 1994 19:27:09 -0600 (CST) Following close on the heels of the release of the first Maison Ikkoku collection from Viz (theoretically, later this month), they will release "Maison Ikkoku: Family Affairs" in February 1995, collecting Book Two of the translated series. $16.95 cover price. Also, the translated MI comic seems to be gaining legitimacy from Viz's perspective; they've solicited for Book Four of the translation, and whereas Books One through Three consisted of seven, six, and six issues, respectively, Book Four will have TEN issues. Sales must be up. And, as always, well-reasoned arguments as to why Viz should do a subtitled version of the MI anime should be forwarded to: viz@netcom.com. Such arguments should include one or more of the following: (1) An explanation of how you, as an MI fan, would purchase a commercially- available subtitle regardless of the availability of fan-subs. (2) Exhortation that the longer Viz puts off doing an MI sub because they think fan-subs have ruined the market, the more self-fulfilling their prophecy will be. (3) Speculation that the target audience of the MI sub (fans of the comic) are not necessarily tied into the anime fan network, and would thus be more likely to purchase the anime. From: Date: Mon, 10 Oct 1994 17:26:32 -0500 (CDT) I was re-reading the Wideban MI manga today (just got ahold of some of the Widebans, which I do kinda prefer to the normal size), and I think I figured out why Viz deleted the "skating rink" episode from their translated version of MI... VW3,10 (I think it corresponds to v4,10) is the final story in a five-part story arc (Godai leaves Ikkoku-kan due to a terrible misunderstanding). Given that Viz puts two chapters/month in their translated comics, and that the latest (Viz Book 3, Number 4) ended with VW3,6, this means that VW3,10 will be the last story in Viz Book 3, Number 6 (the last issue in Viz's Book 3). So effectively, they are ending the "season" at the end of that arc. Then comes Godai's tortured illness in VW3,11 (v5,1; VB4,1), which is technically a followup chapter to the arc, but makes sense as a way to begin the new "season" (after all, it does begin v5 of the normal edition). Ack, too many numbers in the above paragraph... Release of Viz's first MI collected translation will be in December. Cover price will be $16.95, and you get the 14 chapters (excluding v1,3-v1,6) which are in Viz's book 1. Their collected volumes are really nice; I recommend them to anyone who doesn't like only getting the two stories/month provided by the regular comics. There has been no word on whether the collected volume will contain the missing chapters, so I suspect we will still have to do without the "juken" storyline, the first Christmas, and Yukari-no-baachan's first appearance. Just my 2 yen worth... --Jeff (still working on Glass Houses, minna-san...) "He can stay." --Yotsuya "Sugoi!" --Yagami "Wow, he out-Yotsuya'ed Yotsuya-san." --Godai "Heh...he's gonna fit right in here." --Ichinose "(Give me strength...!)" --Kyoko --from _MI2:Glass Houses_ (coming eventually to a fanfiction near you ^_^) -- Jeff D. Williamson *** Interactive Training Resources *** Chicago, Illinois ******************** e-mail: jeff@casbah.acns.nwu.edu ******************* Ob. quote: "Damaramu issho no fukaku." --_Dragon Half_ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arrival Dates of the English MI Comics: @viz_arrivals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ by Tarigan Here's some info about when they arrived to a comics store in my area, and what chapters of the original volumes were in those issues: Late 93.06, Part 1, 1 = v1c1-2 (40pages) Late 93.07, 2 = v1c7-8 (they skipped four chapters) 93.08.25, 3 = v1c9-10 93.09.23, 4 = v2c1-2 93.10.21, 5 = v2c3-4 93.11.05, 6 = v2c5-6 93.12.09, 7 = v2c7-8 94.01.14, Part 2, 1 = v2c9-10 94.02.10, 2 = v2c11 & v3c1 94.03.11, 3 = v3c2 / 4 (they skipped one chapter) 94.04.15, 4 = v3c5-6 94.05.12, 5 = v3c7-8 94.06.16, 6 = v3c9-10 94.07.07 Part 3 1 = v3c11 & v4c1 94.08.11 2 = v4c2-3 94.09.15 3 = v4c4-5 94.10.06 4 = v4c6-7 94.11.03 5 = v4c8-9 94.12.08 6 = v4c10-11 95.01.06 Part 4 1 = v5c1-2 95.02.09 2 = v5c3 95.03.06 3 = v5c4 95.04.06 4 = v5c5-6 95.05.04 5 = v5c7-8 95.06.08 6 = v5c9-10 95.07.06 7 = v6c1-2 95.08.03 8 = v6c3-4 .9.> 95.09.07 9 = v6c5-6 95.10.05 10 = v6c7-8 Part 5 95.11.09 1 = v6c9-10 95.12.13 2 = 96,01.11 3 = 96.02.14 4 = <.9. (Refer to the chapter list elsewhere in this Guidebook to find out what the original titles were. Or you can look further down.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @viz_covers Correspondence Between English Translation and Original Manga: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ provided by Jay Ongg [ Note: Clifford Caoile's version of this chart came later, so I'll be adding on to it to make it even more up-to-date. I'm just keeping Jay's chart here in order to include his comments. -- Glenn ] The following is information on the Viz comics English version of MI, their translation of the title, right next to the manga title. Anyway, the way I listed the comic book information is: a/b/c a is the Part of the series. (Like, they printed 7 issues for part 1, then they're going to print 6 for part 2, etc. The reason they have parts, I suppose is because then they can just print one whole part at a time, take a few months to evaluate how well the comic is selling, then continue with another part.) b is the issue number. c is the chapter (they call it "part" in the comic) where the story takes place. It is independent of the issue number. I think they skipped a few issues in the translation. I never read the manga, so I don't know, but I know that they don't have a corresponding "juken" part in the beginning of the series like in the TV show. They completely skipped it! The translated titles include their punctuation, spelling, and capitalization. 15 10 Normal Wide Viz Viz's Translated A literal translation Manga Manga Issue Chapter Title (of the original title) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1,1 1,1 1/1/1 What Are the Neighbors Doing? Who Are These Neighbors...!? 1,2 1,2 1/1/2 Mr. Soichiro Souichiro-san!! 1,3 1,3 1,4 1,4 1,5 1,5 1,6 1,6 1,7 1,7 1/2/3 Spring Wasabi Spring Wasabi 1,8 1,8 1/2/4 Soichiro's Shadow Souichiro's Shadow 1,9 1,9 1/3/5 Alcohol Love Call Alcohol Love Call 1,10 1,10 1/3/6 Don't Fence Me Out! 2,1 1,11 1/4/7 "Love" Means No Score, Godai! Mitaka, Godai!! 2,2 1,12 1/4/8 Dog Daze 2,3 1,13 1/5/9 A Salty Dog Salty Dog 2,4 1,14 1/5/10 Memorial Cooking Memorial Cooking 2,5 1,15 1/6/11 One Entangled Evening 2,6 1,16 1/6/12 1-900-Trouble Pink Telephone 2,7 2,1 1/7/13 With a Little Nonchalance 2,8 2,2 1/7/14 Campus Doll Campus Doll 2,9 2,3 2/1/1 Intensive Care A Lucky Hit 2,10 2,4 2/1/2 Shadows on the Heart 2,11 2,5 2/2/3 Knit-Picking 3,1 2,6 2/2/4 Ring in the Nude By Your Side 3,2 2,7 2/3/5 "I'll Be Back" He who does not return 3,3 2,8 3,4 2,9 2/3/6 Kyoko Baby and Mr. Soichiro Kyoko and Souichiro -- see Clifford's chart below for more -- I'm not sure about the Part 2 issues, if they correspond exactly. I'll give you some quick synopses so you can know where to place them. 2/1/1 Intensive Care - This is where Kyoko sprains her ankle and Mitaka etc. nurse her back to health. 2/1/2 Shadows on the Heart - Kozue tells Kyoko that Godai reminds her of her first love. 2/2/3 Knit-Picking - This is a Christmas story, where Kyoko made scarves for everyone. 2/2/4 Ring in the Nude - This is a New Year's Eve story, when Kyoko and Godai are alone together for New Year's. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clifford Caoile wrote a similar comparison chart, so I decided to include both his and Jay Ongg's charts: [ Note: I've added in the titles for "A Family Affair" and onwards. Basically, I've taken over this little job. -- Glenn ] Clifford Caoile on 94.03.24: Hi! I made a sort of Mini-FAQ on the versions of MIkk comic books. Actually, all I had was the Japanese normal version (not wide-ban), and the Viz translated version, so it wasn't in-depth. But I did have all the comic books and I had the time, so I just put it together, right? I first showed it to the folks on urusei.yatsura@panda.panda.com mailing list... Anyways, VICKIEWEST@delphi.com told me that I should refer this list to you. {begin mini-FAQ, as sent on Fri Mar 18 94} The differences between Maison Ikkoku, Japan to US, v1.0: by Clifford "Tenchi-Kun" Caoile /ccaoile@ucsd.edu/. Maison Ikkoku is a product of Rumiko Takahashi and Viz. The american titles were translated by the translation team(s) at Viz. Infinite thanks, infinite times to Masahiro Otaki ("Mo' Taki!) for lending those sacred manga books. Thanks to Cal-Animage Beta Chapter (UCSD) for answering my questions... Disclaimer: The author is seriously Japanese-illiterate. At times, even his english is questionable. Most of the dialog is his own creation. He's even unsure of the legality of the document! So if anybody is offended by the format or contents of this document, or if anybody wants to clarify the validity/legality of this document, he is open to suggestions/clarifications. {begin} In 1993, Viz Select Comics released Rumiko Takahashi's Maison Ikkoku (manga version) by various translators (Matt Thorn and Gerald Jones). What people have noticed is that the American version is missing parts of the story... In this document, I show, rather briefly, what the American version has in comparison to the Japanese version. The american version is in the current comic book size, therefore, its really susceptible to bends and rips. The japanese version is printed in the standard manga format. Explanation of notation: "part 1, 1 (1)" Viz likes to put comics out in parts, just to make sure that people are buying (MO). The second number refers to the issue. For example, part 1 contains 7 issues. The last number in parenthesis is the story number, given by Viz. Table of comparison Amer. issue, story Jap. book, story Amer. title ------------------ ---------------- ----------- part 1, 1 (1) v1c1 VW1c1 What Are The Neighbors Doing? 1 (2) v1c2 VW1c2 Mr. Soichiro no counterpart v1c3-6 VW1c3-6 (stories, titles untranslated) 2 (3) v1c7 VW1c7 Spring Wasabi 2 (4) v1c8 VW1c8 Soichiro's Shadow 3 (5) v1c9 VW1c9 Alcohol Love Call 3 (6) v1c10 VW1c10 Don't Fence Me Out! 4 (7) v2c1 VW1c11 "Love" Means No Score, Godai! 4 (8) v2c2 VW1c12 Dog Daze 5 (9) v2c3 VW1c13 A Salty Dog 5 (10) v2c4 VW1c14 Memorial Cooking 6 (11) v2c5 VW1c15 One Entangled Evening 6 (12) v2c6 VW1c16 1-900-Trouble 7 (13) v2c7 VW2c1 With a Little Nonchalance 7 (14) v2c8 VW2c2 Campus Doll part 2, 1 (1) v2c9 VW2c3 Intensive Care 1 (2) v2c10 VW2c4 Shadows on the Heart! 2 (3) v2c11 VW2c5 Knit Picking 2 (4) v3c1 VW2c6 Ring in the Nude 3 (3+) v3c2 VW2c7 "I'll Be Back" no counterpart v3c3 VW2c8 (story, title untranslated) 3 (4+) v3c4 VW2c9 Kyoko Baby and Mr. Soichiro 4 (7) v3c5 VW2c10 A Family Affair 4 (8) v3c6 VW2c11 The Big Announcement 5 (9) v3c7 VW2c12 I'm Convinced 5 (10) v3c8 VW2c13 I'll Never Give Up! 6 (11) v3c9 VW2c14 Mixed [Up] Doubles 6 (12) v3c10 VW2c15 Wait Three Years... part 3, 1 (1) v3c11 VW2c16 The Black Widow's Bite 1 (2) v4c1 VW2c17 Catch of the Day 2 (3) v4c2 VW3c1 Turn the Other Cheek 2 (4) v4c3 VW2c2 Soichiro Turns Around 3 (5) v4c4 VW3c3 A Bunch of Mugs 3 (no number) v4c5 VW3c4 The One That Got Away 4 (7) v4c6 VW3c5 Memories of You 4 (8) v4c7 VW3c6 The Incident 5 (9) v4c8 VW3c7 A Small Space 5 (10) v4c9 VW3c8 Recipe for Misunderstanding 6 (11) v4c10 VW3c9 The Light in Room 5 6 (12) v4c11 VW3c10 Down the Home Stretch part 4, 1 (1) v5c1 VW3c11 Embraced by Illness 1 (2) v5c2 VW3c12 The Man Who Reached for the Stars 2 (3) v5c3 VW3c13 Careful What You Wish For 3 (4) v5c4 VW3c14 The Kissing Scene 4 (7+) v5c5 VW3c15 No Peeking! 4 (8+) v5c6 VW4c1 Mixed Messages 5 (9+) v5c7 VW4c2 The Better to Hear You With 5 (10+) v5c8 VW4c3 Clothes Make the ??? 6 (11+) v5c9 VW4c4 Just A Little Card 6 (12+) v5c10 VW4c5 Oh, Baby! 7 (13+) v6c1 VW4c6 A Very Tight Game 7 (14+) v6c2 VW4c7 Shall We... Rest Awhile? 8 (15+) v6c3 VW4c8 Grandma Goes to Town 8 (16+) v6c4 VW4c9 Stop Following Me! 9 (17+) v6c5 VW4c10 Come on a My House 9 (18+) v6c6 VW4c11 Granny's Ol'Plum Wine 10 (17+) v6c7 VW4c12 Playing Hickey 10 (18+) v6c8 VW4c13 A Hot Wind part 5, 1 (1) v6c9 VW4c14 Well, Well, Well 1 (2) v6c10 VW4c15 Prune-Faced Cupid + = The part numbering is a typo in the Viz issue. {end} --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Viz Chapter Title List and Comparison: -------------------------------------- Compiled by Glenn Tarigan Thanks to Josh Cole , Gary Kacmarcik and others for filling in a few details here. Issue Part Title: Original Chapter & MI ML Translation ----- ---- ------ ------------------------------------ GNv1 1 What Are The Neighbors Doing? v1c1 Who Are These Neighbors...!? 2 Mr. Soichiro v1c2 Souichiro-san!! 3 Spring Wasabi v1c7 Spring Wasabi 4 Soichiro's Shadow v1c8 Souichiro's Shadow 5 Alcohol Love Call v1c9 Alcohol Love Call 6 Don't Fence Me Out v1c10 Don't Go Through the Wire Fence! 7 "Love" Means No Score, Godai! v2c1 Have You Seen Him, Godai!! 8 Dog Daze v2c2 The Mutt on the Way 9 A Salty Dog v2c3 Salty Dog 10 Memorial Cooking v2c4 Memorial Cooking 11 One Entangled Evening v2c5 One Entangled Evening 12 1-900-Trouble v2c6 Pink Telephone 13 With a Little Nonchalance v2c7 The Natural 14 Campus Doll v2c8 Campus Doll GNv2 1 Intensive Care v2c9 Struggle for Distinction over an Injury 2 Shadows on the Heart v2c10 Burdened with a Shadow 3 Knit-Picking v2c11 I'm Giving Mufflers 4 Ring in the Nude v3c1 By Your Side 5 "I'll be Back" v3c2 He Who Does Not Return 6 Kyoko Baby and Mr. Soichiro v3c4 Kyoko & Souichiro 7 A Family Affair v3c5 Frustration of Family 8 The Big Announcement v3c6 Resignation Announcement 9 I'm Convinced v3c7 I Understand 10 I'll Never Give Up! v3c8 I Won't Lose!! 11 Mixed (Up) Doubles v3c9 Mixed Doubles 12 Wait Three Years v3c10 Wait Three Years 3.1 1 The Black Widow's Bite v3c11 Angry Widow 2 Catch of the Day v4c1 This One is Fine 3.2 3* Turn the Other Cheek v4c2 Turning Away 4* Soichiro Turns Around v4c3 Souichiro Turning Around 3.3 5* A Bunch of Mugs v4c4 Shocking [Beer] Mug * The One That Got Away v4c5 It Happened in a Dark Corner During the Festival 3.4 7* Memories of You v4c6 Memory of Summer 8* The Incident v4c7 The Incident 3.5 9 A Small Space v4c8 A Small Space 10 Recipe for Misunderstanding v4c9 Recipe for Misunderstanding 3.6 11 The Light in Room 5 v4c10 Hopeful Room 5 12 Down the Home Stretch v4c11 Up the Hill 4.1 1* Embraced by Illness v5c1 Cold's Embrance 2* The Man Who Reached v5c2 The Man Who Catches Stars for the Stars 4.2 3 Careful What You Wish For v5c3 Your Desire Comes True 4.3 4 The Kissing Scene v5c4 Scene With a Kiss 4.4 +7 No Peeking! v5c5 Can't Watch This! +8 Mixed Messages v5c6 What a Clever Man He Is 4.5 +9* The Better to Hear You With v5c7 Watch Out, Kozue-chan +10* Clothes Make the ??? v5c8 Ikkoku-kan's Day and Night 4.6 +11 Just A Little Card v5c9 The Postcard That Was Delivered +12 Oh, Baby! v5c10 Scenes With Children 4.7 +13* A Very Tight Game v6c1 The Baseball Standoff +14 Shall We... Rest Awhile? v6c2 Let's Rest for a Little Bit 4.8 +15 Grandma Goes to Town v6c3 Baachan In Tokio +16 Stop Following Me! v6c4 Don't Follow Me 4.9 +17 Come on a My House v6c5 Come On To My House +18 Granny's Ol'Plum Wine v6c6 Grandma's Plum Sake 4.10 +17 Playing Hickey v6c7 Poolside Kissmark +18 A Hot Wind v6c8 With the Summer Wind 5.1 1 Well, Well, Well v6c9 Inside a Well 2 Prune-Faced Cupid v6c10 Wrinkled Cupid + = The part numbering is a typo in the Viz issue. * = The chapter is missing the initial title page(s) in the Viz version. GN = Graphic Novel = compilation volume ______________________________________________________________________________ ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @viz_comments Maison Ikkoku Cover and Title Page Descriptions: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For the Viz Translations. Provided by Jeff Williamson Continued by Gary Kacmarcik Part One: ======== Issue #1 -------- Part 1: What Are the Neighbors Doing? Part 2: Mr. Soichiro Cover: Purple background. In front of Ikkoku-kan, a laughing Godai has taken a shocked Kyoko into his arms. [ This seems to correspond with the "Alcohol Love Call" manga chapter. ] Title Page, Part 1: Kyoko is in the foreground, body facing away from the reader, but her head is turned back. She is holding a hammer and has some nails in her mouth. Tiled along the background are panels displaying the residents of Ikkoku-kan, laid out in the following configuration: ------------------------------------------------- | 4 | 5 | 6 | | | | | |Yotsuya, about X Godai, trying X Akemi, clad in| |to drive a log X to study for | negligee only,| |through the | juken. Sign | stretching. | |wall to room 5.X behind him: | | | | "Study or die"| | ------------------------------------------------- | 1 | | | The "X"'s between the panels | Ichinose and | above are boarded-up sections | Kentaro-kun, | of "wall" between the "rooms". | eating dinner | | | | | ----------------- Title Page, Part 2: In the foreground, Kyoko, wearing an apron and a contented smile, hugs Souichiro (the dog). Behind her, Godai wears an expression of consternation. An umbrella is hooked over his arm. [ Here's where we skip four chapters from the original manga... ] Issue #2 -------- Part 3: Spring Wasabi Part 4: Soichiro's Shadow Cover: Lavender background. Kyoko stands in foreground, wearing a pink dress and gloves, and carrying a wrapped wine bottle. In the background: to her left, Godai (wearing an old-fashioned hat) holds a bouquet of flowers. To her right, Mitaka (wearing a 3-piece suit) holds a rose in his teeth. Title Page, Part 3: Kyoko is half-turned away from the reader, looking back behind her. She is wearing a black dress; her hair is bound up on her head. Cherry blossoms blow around in the background. Title Page, Part 4: In the back yard of Ikkoku-kan, Kyoko (wearing the "Piyo Piyo" apron, hangs laundry as she talks with Ichinose, who is seated on the back stoop. The washing machine makes "Chug Chug Chug" noises. Issue #3 -------- Part 5: Alcohol Love Call Part 6: Don't Fence Me Out! Cover: Light blue background. Kyoko in a one-piece dark blue bathing suit with a palm-tree design strikes a pose, wind blowing her white (!) hair. Title Page, Part 5: Profile shots of Godai (with tears brimming in his eyes), and a weeping Kyoko, facing each other across a rift of half-full liquor bottles and beer cans. [ IMHO, the single best title page in the translations to date. ] Title Page, Part 6: Kyoko, clad in her short tennis uniform, is half- turned away, looking back over her shoulder. Her hands are behind her back, clasping a tennis racket to shield her legs and behind from the view of a smaller Godai, who is riding a bicycle past Kyoko and looking up at her. Issue #4 -------- Part 7: "Love" Means No Score, Godai! Part 8: Dog Daze Cover: Lavender background. Kyoko is seated, wearing a frilly white autumn dress. She holds a basket of grapes, and has plucked one from the bunch. Again, her hair is white. [ Odd-colored version of the cover to manga Volume 12. ] Title Page, Part 7: Prominent is a large head shot of Mitaka, flashing a sparkling smile. Surrounding his head, clockwise from right to left: Ichinose (laughing wildly), Kyoko (in tennis garb; looking pensive), Yotsuya (staring and pointing at Mitaka's chin), Godai (looking jealous), and Akemi (lusting after Mitaka). Title Page, Part 8: At the beach. Kyoko frolics with Souichiro-dog. Behind her, Godai taunts Mitaka, who stands further away, a bead of sweat on his head. None of them are wearing bathing suits; they all have on normal clothing. Issue #5 -------- Part 9: A Salty Dog Part 10: Memorial Cooking Cover: Orange background. Kyoko (with pinkish-white hair) is dressed in a runner's tank-top and shorts (both pink), and wears a pink-and-white striped headband. A green and white towel is looped around her neck, and she carries a can of cola. The tank top is labelled "Piyo Piyo". She also wears a pendant around her neck: the chick (which is on the "Piyo Piyo" apron). [ Odd-colored version of the cover to manga Volume 11. ] Title Page, Part 9: Kyoko, in a one-piece bathing suit, with a flower in her hair, poses as she leans against a sleeping Souichiro-dog. Title Page, Part 10: Kyoko is in the foreground, cooking in a wok, and mixing eggs in a large bowl. She has a knife in her left hand; her right hand, bleeding from a cut, is raised to her mouth. Her head is half-turned to look at Godai, behind her, who is rising to his feet with a worried expression on his face. Issue #6 -------- Part 11: One Entangled Evening Part 12: 1-900-Trouble Cover: White background, with pink and blue highlights. Most prominent is Kyoko, wearing a cute pink pearled sweater, with a matching bow in her hair. She is looking down at a small orange package which she has just unwrapped, from which is emerging a small Godai bearing a rose. A small Kentaro peeks over her left shoulder, while a small Akemi, drinking wine, is seated next to him. A fan-dancing Ichinose bursts from a red package in front of Kyoko. Nikaido is seated in front of a blue package by Kyoko's right arm. Next to him is Yotsuya, snaking his way out of a striped package as if coming through the hole to room #5. Tucked in the crook of Kyoko's right arm is Souichiro-dog, wearing a blue ribbon with white polka dots around his neck. [ IMHO, this is the best cover on the translations to date. It is also VERY eye-catching and interesting to look at. ] Title Page, Part 11: Head shot of Kyoko in background. She is wearing makeup and earrings, dressed for a date. In the foreground: Mitaka (on the right) is dressed in a white suit, and carries a bouquet of roses. On the left, Godai, who has shaped his left hand into the shape of a gun, points it at Mitaka, squints his left eye closed, and is saying, "BANG". [ Note: Most *amusing* frontispiece illo. ] Title Page, Part 12: In the foreground, Kyoko (wearing the chick apron) is holding a telephone receiver. In the background, Godai (at the pay phone) holds that phone's receiver. He is looking over his shoulder at Kyoko. Issue #7 -------- Part 13: With a Little Nonchalance Part 14: Campus Doll Cover: Light-orange background with "barbell" shaped pattern. Kyoko is wearing a mostly-orange, very decorated kimono and patterned black sash. Her white (!! what's with this color?) hair is bound tightly upon her head, held in place by a red comb. On her right hand is the puppet of a lion dog, or dog spirit, or some such. [ Odd-colored version of cover of manga Volume 8. ] Title Page, Part 13: Group shot of the residents of Ikkoku-kan standing on the front lawn. From left to right: Ichinose (smiling broadly), Yotsuya (flashing the "rabbit-ears" gesture), Akemi, Godai, Kyoko, Souichiro-dog, and Kentaro (smiling like his mom). Title Page, Part 14: In the background, the buildings and clock tower of a university. Leaves blow across the picture. Kyoko stands in the foreground, dressed in a sweater and scarf. On her right hand is a doll painted to look exactly like her, except the doll is wearing the "Piyo Piyo" apron and is holding a broom. Part of Kyoko's hair is tied into a pony tail on the side of her head. Part Two: ======== Issue #1 -------- Part 1: Intensive Care Part 2: Shadows on the Heart Cover: Light blue background with darker blue repetitive jagged pattern. Kyoko is in a frilly white (or pink) spring dress, and wears a white hat with a ribbon. Again, she has white hair. At her side is Souichiro-dog, wearing a black ribbon with white polka dots. [Odd-colored version of the cover to manga Volume 10.] Title Page, Part 1: An injured Kyoko, wearing a tennis uniform, sits in a high tennis chair, her legs crossed. Her left ankle and foot are bandaged, and are being cradled by Mitaka (also in tennis uniform), who throws an almost possessive look over his shoulder at Kyoko. Also in the foreground is a fretful Godai, who is looking up at Kyoko in the chair. Title Page, Part 2: In the foreground, a brooding Godai (wearing a sweater) stands, head bowed, eyes closed. Behind him, a smiling Kozue (also wearing a sweater) lays a comforting hand on his right shoulder. Behind Godai's other shoulder, Kyoko looks off toward the right side of the page (i.e., facing away from Kozue and Godai). Issue #2 -------- Part 3: Knit-picker Part 4: Ring in the Nude Cover: Light green background, with blue wavy lines and pink flower pattern. Kyoko is in a dark blue kimono with white floral bands and multicolored chrysanthemum patterns. With her left hand she holds closed the folds of her right sleeve. Her right hand, held close to her chest, holds a bundle of prayer incense. Her white hair is bound up with a light orange ribbon with a white floral pattern. [Odd-colored version of the cover to Manga Volume 13.] Title Page, Part 3: Godai and Kyoko stand back to back, each looking out of the corner of their eye at the other and smiling. Godai, on the left, lightly bounces a ball of yarn in his left hand, the thread of which is being knit by Kyoko into a white scarf which is wound around the pair's shoulders, binding them together. Godai is wearing a knit sweater; Kyoko is wearing a sweater with an argyle pattern. [Note: This scene has been used in much of Viz's Maison Ikkoku advertising.] Title Page, Part 4: In the foreground, a terrified Kyoko raises her arms to ward off a menacing Godai. Kyoko's clothing is in a state of tatters. Godai is attempting to grab her, having knocked over a mug of some liquid with his left hand. Caption boxes near the two read "Attacker" (for Godai) and "Victim" (for Kyoko). Part Two, Issue 3 ----------------- Cover Description: On a light green background, a tiled pattern of cherry blossoms (5 blossoms arranged in a circle, around a ring of five small dots). Godai is on the left, wearing jeans and a blue sweatshirt (captioned "Boy Meet...", which might be logically expanded to "Boy Meets Girl"). Kyoko is on the right, wearing a stripe-patterned blouse and pink skirt, and the "Piyo Piyo" apron. Her hair is bound back by a pink band. Cherry blossoms are falling through the air, and Kyoko has captured a number of them, gathered in the folds of her apron. Godai is stringing the blossoms onto a red thread with a needle. (*) Behind Godai, Souichiro-san deftly catches a blossom on his tongue. (*) The "red string of fate" is a Japanese superstition: when two people are meant for each other, it is said that they are tied together by a red string. Nice touch. Part 3: "I'll Be Back" (in quotes, as if quoting the Terminator line) Title Page: Angled shot of a pensive Kyoko glancing sidelong at the closed door to room 5. Only her head is visible. Art style is the "Takahashi mature" style, used rarely (see Viz 1.5 for an internal use--the close-up exchange between Kyoko and Godai). Between chapters: Lower left of an otherwise blank page. A boisterous Sakamoto slaps a startled Godai on the back. Foreshadows the next chapter. (Is this how it originally appeared in the manga, barring page flipping?) Part 4: Kyoko Baby and Mr. Soichiro [AAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIEEE!!!] Title Page: Kyoko, wearing jeans and a light sweater with a striped tulip pattern (and wooden sandals), kneels in front of "Mr. Soichiro"'s doghouse. Souichiro-san reclines in the doorway of his home, paws folded serenely in front of him. Off-panel, someone is calling, "Kyoko, Baby!". Kyoko's head is turned to look over her shoulder as she responds "Yes?!" [Ugh! Bad translation! BAD! BAD! Jones no BAKAYARO!] Part Two, Issue 4 ----------------- Cover Description: Sunday in the Park with Tokeizaka. A veritable "who's who" of Maison Ikkoku, and a double-page cover to boot. Backgrounds: a picnic under the cherry trees. Glasses, plates and baskets of food, and bottles of sake are strewn about, as is the occasional cherry blossom. People (right to left, top to bottom): Saotome (puppet club president), drinking from a paper cup; Sakamoto, also imbibing, as Kyoko-chan (the kitten) clings to his left shoulder; Ikuko-chan, filling someone's glass from a bottle (this person is off-panel; could it be Otonashi-san?); unidentified brown-haired person; Master, wearing a confused expression and shaking a tumbler; Mitaka, flashing a smug sparkling grin at Godai behind Kyoko's back; Akemi, wearing a short dress and a drunken expression; Kuroki Sayoko, hiding behind a tree, with a dragon puppet on one hand; Godai, wearing his "Yu" sweater, pouring sake into a paper cup, glaring and sticking his tongue out at Mitaka behind Kyoko's back; Kyoko, clapping her hands together at Ichinose's antics; Kentaro-kun, glaring and sweating nervously at his mother's antics; Kozue-chan, smiling dippily as she clings to Godai's right arm; Baachan, grinning back at the viewer; Ichinose, doing a fan-dance; Ichinose's husband, drinking serenely from a paper cup (*); Yotsuya, eating what looks like sashimi with chopsticks; and Souichiro-san, who has a glass near his paws. (*) We have not seen Ichinose's husband in the Viz translations to this date, I believe. Similarly, the unidentified character in the lower right of the cover (only their back is visible) is unidentifiable because I can't think of any other character who fits. Looks male, and is not Otonashi-san. Part 7: A Family Affair Part 8: The Big Announcement There are no title pages for either of these chapters, which has been covered by Tarigan-san [and Carragher-san -- Please refer to the sections "Short Chapter Summaries" and "Chapter Synopses". The keywords are "viz_covers" and "viz2_4". Ed.]. This also led me to catch a proofreading error: Viz's "Part 3 and 4" in Part Two, Issue 3 *should* be labelled "Part 5" and "Part 6". Gary Kacmarcik takes over now (with a slight overlap) : Part 2 Issue 4 -------------- part 7 - "A Family Affair" The pervert hanging around outside Maison Ikkoku is really Kyoko's father. After she meets her parents, she vows never to give up her job "as long as Maison Ikkoku still stands". part 8 - "The Big Announcement" Kyoko's mother comes to inform the tenants that Kyoko has decided to quit as manager of Maison Ikkoku. Kyoko's a bit miffed when she discovers this. Part 2 Issue 5 -------------- part 9 - "I'm Convinced" Kyoko's mother convinces Mrs. Ichinose that Kyoko's father is sick and that they need her at home. She realizes that she was tricked when she sees Kyoko and her father talking at Maison Ikkoku. part 10 - "I'll Never Give Up!" Kyoko, her parents and the Otonashis go to visit the grave of Soichiro. Yusaku has dinner at Kozue's house and is thoughtful enough to bring a melon. The episode ends with Yusaku thinking "I give up..." and Kyoko screaming "I'll never give up!!" (not to each other, however). Part 2 Issue 6 -------------- part 11 - "Mixed [Up] Doubles" Kyoko and Mrs. Ichinose go to play tennis for the first time in a long time and Yusaku tags along (surprise). Yusaku is invited in to play tennis (so that he doesn't "end up committing awful sex crimes") and plays mixed doubles: Kyoko/Yusaku vs. Mitaka/Ichinose. Mitaka offers to 'pair' with Kyoko for life, but she purposefully misinterprets his offer to avoid answering the question. part 12 - "Wait Three Years..." Kyoko goes on a 'date' with Mitaka where he is more direct with his marriage proposal. He offers to wait 2 or 3 years. Meanwhile, Yusaku is pigging out at Kozue's house. When Kyoko and Yusaku meet at the swings later, Yusaku confides that he wants her to wait 3 (no, make that 5) more years (for him to graduate). Part 3 Issue 1 -------------- part 1 - "The Black Widow's Bite" Kyoko meets a friend from high school which causes her to think about when she's going to get married. Kozue comes over to cook for Yusaku, and Kyoko has a date ("Yes, a date") with Mitaka. When she goes to meet him, she finds him in the arms of another girl in the "Can-Can Dog Grooming" salon. She plays pachinko and Yusaku gets smacked in the face with a can. [BTW, Godai's sweatshirt in this episode reads: "Basketball Center Line" is this what is says in the manga? i kinda doubt it. they had to mirror all the pages, so they probably just redid all the clothing that had writing.] Glenn: Yes, in the original manga, Godai's shirt reads "Basketball Center Line". part 2 - "Catch of the Day" Mitaka wonders why Kyoko is avoiding him and why she didn't show up for their date. Yusaku takes Kyoko's mother to see her at the tennis courts and a hoard of people go out to have coffee. Kyoko's father visits the tennis courts with Yusaku (on Saturday, duh!) and they end up boozing it up at a nearby sidewalk bar. Kyoko has to come and help her father home. [Godai's sweatshirt: "Honey House Company" for coffee; "Sun" with sun and water picture for drinking with Mr. Chigusa. Mitaka tennis shirt: DSB initials above right (!) breast other notes: they have 'coffee' at the Cafe Sepia, where they drink the beverage out of stemmed glasses with straws! how odd.] Glenn: Where'd it say they were having coffee? Their drinks look carbonated to me. Gary Kacmarcik: it's never explicit that they ordered coffee, but they did go to a cafe' with the intention of ordering coffee. page 26: Ichinose yells "Hey, Kyoko! The coach wants to know if you want to go for coffee after practice!" (however, she said no) page 36: Mitaka suggests "Over some coffee?" to Kyoko's mother's request to talk for a bit. page 37: "Cafe Sepia" implies coffee too. (no accent on the 'e' in 'Cafe' ) page numbers are from the Viz comic (obviously). the title page for "Catch of the Day" is page 23. boy, it's hard remembering to type 'Yusaku' instead of 'Godai-san'. funny though, i seem to have no problem using 'Kyoko' ^_^ Part 3 Issue 2 -------------- part 3 Turn the Other Cheek Godai skips dinner with Kozue and starves so that he can sort out his priorities. Kyoko takes a shower. At the end, everyone is happy again and Kyoko has a date planned with Mitaka. "and so the triangle is repaired..." part 4 Soichiro Turns Around Soichiro runs away while Kentaro is holding his leash and Godai and Kentaro spend time wandering around looking for him. Kyoko has flashbacks to how "Snowy" got his current name. Kyoko sees Godai with Soichiro and is reminded of the real Soichiro. Part 3 Issue 3 -------------- Since i don't have the corresponding manga (yet), i can't relate the cover art or the stories to the original. Neither of the stories has a separate title page. The cover has Mitaka in a suit and tie holding a bouquet of red roses. The background behind him is lavender with red roses and hearts. Part 5 - A Bunch of Mugs Part 6 - The One That Got Away Part 3 Issue 6 -------------- Part 7 - The Light in Room 5 Part 8 - Down the Home Stretch Part 4 Issue 1 -------------- Part 1 - Embraced by Illness Part 2 - The Man Who Reached For The Stars Part 4 Issue 2 -------------- Part 3 - Careful What You Wish For Part 4 Issue 3 -------------- Part 4 - The Kissing Scene Timo Ettanen on Sat, 11 Mar 95: I bought it today here in Finland, and I think it is the best issue from VIZ so far. Well... only one story instead of two, but just take a look that beautiful pastel color cover. Hmm.. I'm a bit worried about those little birdies at the lower right corner. Just think about it.. Flock of ten birds in october. Piyopiyopiyo... There must be an Alfred Hitchcock fan in Viz graphics crew. Part 4 Issue 4 -------------- Part 7 - No Peeking! Part 8 - Mixed Messages Part 4 Issue 5 -------------- Part 9 - The Better to Hear You With Part 10 - Clothes Make the ??? Part 4 Issue 6 -------------- Part 11 - Just A Little Card Part 12 - Oh, Baby! Part 4 Issue 7 -------------- Part 13 - A Very Tight Game Part 14 - Shall We... Rest Awhile? Part 4 Issue 8 -------------- Part 15 - Grandma Goes to Town Part 16 - Stop Following Me! .9.> Part 4 Issue 9 -------------- Part 17 - Come on a My House Part 18 - Granny's Ol'Plum Wine Part 4 Issue 10 --------------- Part 17 - Playing Hickey Part 18 - A Hot Wind Part 5 Issue 1 --------------- Part 1 - Well, Well, Well Part 2 - Prune-Faced Cupid =========================================================================== @viz_corresp General Comments on Viz's Publication of Maison Ikkoku: ---------------- Tarigan: In order to accommodate western readers, Viz has mirror-flipped the pages so that the book reads from left-to-right, instead of right-to-left as in the original. The unfortunate consequence is that the architecture of Maison Ikkoku (which I am very familiar with) is changed. Be warned that they changed the story in the early chapters unnecessarily, skipped some chapters (#3-6 of the original were entirely bypassed so far), and put in some poor dialogue. Apart from that, and the fact that the 40 page comic-book format is inherently inferior to having it in the form of a compilation volume, Maison Ikkoku in English is tolerable... Learn Japanese and buy the originals! (not necessarily in that order) ------------------------------------------------------------------- .7.> Ben C. Cheng on 94.09.12 wrote: Okay, I just bought the first 12 issues of the Viz MI series and while looking through 'em, I noticed that practically EVERYTHING seems to be a mirror image of what I was used to seeing (from the anime at least). For example, in the anime, the stairs leading to the second floor is on the right (if you're facing the building from the front door) and the kanrinin's room is to the left. In the comics, the stairs is to the left while the k-room is to the right. Souichiro-san's doghouse which is on the left in the anime is now on the right. Etc. etc. Oddly enough, the room placement on the second floor is still the same. Is there some logical reason to this? A friend of mine that I mentioned this to said that there seemed to be the same thing going on with Viz's Ranma comics. Is the Japanese MI manga oriented the same way as the anime? Doug Eckhart replies: Yes, the Japanese manga in general is oriented the same way as the anime. The reason why the American comics are flipped is very simple really. Americans read a book from left to right, while japanese read it the opposite way. In order to avoid confusion, the pages flipped so that they read the "normal" direction when translated. Also, because the pages are flipped, all english words in the original (on signs, charactes' T-Shirts, etc) have to be re-done in the english release so that they don't look backwards (flipping background japanese writing probably isn't as important, but I guess the signs are usually translated...). I guess page-mirroring might also explain why some of the frames of Viz's comics seem to be cut off on the outside edge of the page... But then again there might be other reasons for that... Gary Kacmarcik writes: > Okay, I just bought the first 12 issues of the Viz MI series and while > looking through 'em, I noticed that practically EVERYTHING seems to be a > mirror image of what I was used to seeing (from the anime at least). For this is almost always done when japanese comics/manga are translated into english. japanese reads from right-to-left and the first page of the book is what we would call the last page. Hence, japanese reads "backwards" from the normal english way - both in terms of how the pages are ordered, and with how the information flows within a page. the pages are mirrored so that people reading the english version can read the story in the direction that they are accustomed to (ie: left to right). the anime followed the architecture of the original manga, so you'll notice a difference between the anime and the VIZ stuff. this is not unique to VIZ. This was done with Akira and i assume most other companies do the same. fan translations are typically the only ones that don't change the reading direction. the problem with mirroring is that all the text needs to be redone and most people become left-handed. the funny thing is that the steering wheel is on the correct side (for N.Am.) when they mirror it from the Japanese (who have the steering wheel on the right (instead of left) side). i switch back and forth between the VIZ MI and the original, and it sometimes becomes entertaining when i try to read the story by applying the wrong reading direction. i usually don't get very far. ^_^ Bror Hellman wrote: > Okay, I just bought the first 12 issues of the Viz MI series and while > looking through 'em, I noticed that practically EVERYTHING seems to be a > mirror image of what I was used to seeing (from the anime at least). That's correct. It's the same with nearly *all* Japanese and Israeli comics published in the western hemisphere. Since Japanese and Israeli reads from right to left instead from left to right as we do the easiest way to translate it and make it come out right for us is to reverse the page (just like they do to american comics in Israel) If you look at most japanese comics people tendo to be left-handed. A very few japanese comics are reversed by editing the page-layout, but that tends to brake the very delicate artistic composition and are suitable only to a limited number of comics. <.7. ------------------------------------------------------------------- .5.> Date: Mon, 18 Apr 1994 15:49:37 -0400 (EDT) From: Michael Welsh Duggan OK. I will make a couple of comments. I have bought all of the VIZ translations in order that my younger siblings may read them. (My sister absolutely *adores* it.) In reading through them, I do not always pick up on large mistranslations, as I am only a beginner at reading Japanese, and I don't tent to sit down and compare them with the original. The things which do stick in mind, however, are the way they translate honorifics. 1) "Mister" is overused. Whenever '-san' is on a name, they consistantly try to use the word "Mr." or "Mrs." Now, because they have to sell to a larger audience, I can see why they don't just leave the honorifics there. (Not that I agree with that.) However, I think that they could just translate "Godai-san" as "Godai" when appropriate. Eugene Lee interjects: I agree as well. Since it appears that Viz's intended audience is a relatively Japanese-ignorant readership, "-san" *should* be ignored for the most part. But I think that "-san" should be translated to "Miss./Mr./Mrs./Ms." during formal situations. Some thought to the situation itself should be put by the translators (too bad Mr. Jones isn't one of these --- I wonder if he'd translate "Anjin-san" as "Mr. Pilot"...?). Michael: 2) The "Kyoko-chan" issue really made a large mistake in translation. They consistantly translated "Kyoko-chan" as "Kyoko baby". *cringe* Although I can't right off think of a better way to do this, I am sure _something_ better could have been used. Any suggestions? Eugene Lee Get RID of "baby" and leave it as "Kyoko". I wish Viz would stop insulating Japanese culture from their MI translations and start *educating* their readers about the Japanese culture and language by putting in more footnotes or something. I think this worked extremely well with "Lone Wolf and Cub" (too bad this never got finished). As mentioned by others before (I accidentally deleted mail too soon!), there seems to be an general consensus that Gerard Jones' ability to translate Japanese manga is very questionable. One of the things that bugged me --- this is from Ranma 1/2 though --- is how Mr. Jones translated Kasumi's call for her father "Otousan" to "Daaaddy"... >:( ------------------- What follows are some of the responses from a poll that was posted in the MI Mailing List: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's an informal poll: 1) Do you regularly buy Viz's translation of MI? How many copies does your comics store usually get each month? Do they sell well? 2) Will you be buying Viz's compilation volumes of MI? Jeff Williamson told me this: You are in luck! I have it from a reliable inside source at Viz that the first MI compilation (collecting 1.1-1.7) will be available sometime between September and November. This source also tells me that Viz is currently weighing the pros and cons of doing a (subtitled-only) release of MI episodes state-side. 3) What do you think of Maison Ikkoku in English? ( I'd especially like to hear opinions from those of you who don't know Japanese, and even more so from those of you who first found out about MI through Viz's translation. ) Do you think Viz's version of MI fulfills the basic requirement of being entertaining? Is it a good read? If you lent some copies of it to someone else, would there be a good chance of that person actually liking the story? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 22 Apr 1994 12:32:24 -0400 (EDT) From: Michael Welsh Duggan > How many copies does your comics store usually get each > month? Do they sell well? Maa maa desu. Its not one of the higher selling translated manga. But then again, the "wacky hijinks can't stop a great romance" subtitle Viz puts on the issues doesn't help. > 3) What do you think of Maison Ikkoku in English? I think the translation leaves a little bit to be desired. But I am a little biased having read the originals. My younger brothers and sisters seem to enjoy them a lot, and have no real problems with the translations. My sister (sixth grade) in particular _really_ loves the series. > Do you think Viz's version of MI fulfills the basic > requirement of being entertaining? Is it a good read? I think it reads akwardly, but then I can often tell what the original phrase (in Japanese) would have been. I am definitely biased. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 22 Apr 1994 09:40:32 -0700 (PDT) From: Song Ouk Bang > 3) What do you think of Maison Ikkoku in English? It's not bad... well... it's not good either... I didn't like the part where Godai was calling the cat "Kyoko-baby" though... if I was reading MI for the first time, I would think that something's wrong with Kyouko for letting Godai call her "baby." > If you lent some copies of it to someone else, would there > be a good chance of that person actually liking the story? I lend it out to everybody I know. Everytime I say "I bought new MI..." they say "GIVE IT! GIVE I!" They all love it! But for some reason... they don't want to buy it for themselves... =) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: luf@tiamat.umd.umich.edu (Samuel Lysinger) Date: Fri, 22 Apr 1994 14:50:04 -0400 (EDT) > 3) What do you think of Maison Ikkoku in English? > > ( I'd especially like to hear opinions from those of you > who don't know Japanese, and even more so from those of you > who first found out about MI through Viz's translation. ) > Not knowing Japanese and reading all of the flaming of the translations, I understand it and it's hillarious and I like the job they're doing > Do you think Viz's version of MI fulfills the basic > requirement of being entertaining? Is it a good read? > It's an excellent read. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Sam P Chung Date: Fri, 22 Apr 94 13:07:45 -0800 3. They do meet the "basic" requirements... but that's about it. I don't like how Kyoko calls him "Yusaku" in the comic... that is totally weird. Considering that would place their relationship at something more familiar than they are... In the real comic they are "Kanrinrin-san and Godai-san" a lot more formal than "Yusaku" and "Kyoko"... I know that calling her Ms. Manager and Mr. Godai would sound rather awkward, but I think it is more true to the story... As it doesn't allow them to "fully" express their new found "familiarity" with each other as the series progresses... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: J Juhana Enqvist Date: Sat, 23 Apr 1994 03:15:20 +0300 (EET DST) > 3) What do you think of Maison Ikkoku in English? Great! Absolutely great! Best comics I've ever read! Although sometimes the translation doesn't flow perfectly (like the "Kyoko Baby" episode), and sometimes it's easy to spot a sentence which really doesn't work as well as I suppose it did in the original, I still think they're doing a great job! The way Yotsuya talks really amuses me! > ( I'd especially like to hear opinions from those of you > who don't know Japanese, and even more so from those of you > who first found out about MI through Viz's translation. ) The above fits me perfectly! > Do you think Viz's version of MI fulfills the basic > requirement of being entertaining? Is it a good read? You may already some "small subliminal hints" of what I think of it :) GREAT! MAGNIFICIENT! WONDERFUL! (etc.) > If you lent some copies of it to someone else, would there > be a good chance of that person actually liking the story? I've showed these issues of my friend to four or five friends, and two of them said "I really should visit that comic store!" and "Tell me when you order stuff from the states next time, I want some too!", and the others liked these too. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 22 Apr 1994 05:31:07 -0800 From: ccaoile@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Clifford "Tenchi-Kun" Caoile) > 3) What do you think of Maison Ikkoku in English? I like it, b/c I can understand the story, tho it bugs me that it doesn't have the exact nuances of the story, from what I've heard in this ML. It is a little akward. I'd like more Japanese references, but they won't translate them. The more I look at the sales here and the interest, the more I think they will quit it at part 2... (Berkeley and Michigan seems to move faster that SD.) Darn, just when it got interesting... %-{ > Do you think Viz's version of MI fulfills the basic > requirement of being entertaining? Is it a good read? Well, they translate it well enough, but it seems like they just want to target those who already like the series but don't follow most Japanese customs or the language (like me!). I cringe whenever I read "Yusaku" (There's just something the pronouncation that makes it harder that "Godai"). There's not enough each month, with only two chapters in a comic, so I guess some people might lose interest. Plus the price is a factor: I don't think anybody's going to spend a $1.00 extra for a black and white comic, when color is so prevalent. That's the way comic LIFE goes... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 22 Apr 94 18:51:12 -0700 From: carraghe@cs.ucsd.edu (Robert Carragher) Bob-> 3) What do you think of Maison Ikkoku in English? Can't give you first-hand info. Second- and third- hand, it sounds so-so, done by Viz. I don't know who else has put out an English-language version of MI. Bob-> Do you think Viz's version of MI fulfills the basic Bob-> requirement of being entertaining? Is it a good read? It's okay. But definitely not for anyone who is a purist to any degree. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 23 Apr 1994 17:54:51 -0500 (CDT) From: "Sandro C. Sarang" > 3) What do you think of Maison Ikkoku in English? > ( I'd especially like to hear opinions from those of you > who don't know Japanese, and even more so from those of you > who first found out about MI through Viz's translation. ) Well, knowing only a smattering of JPNese (nani?), and having only seen a few episodes at our club, I'm pretty new to it. Basically, I don't know what mistakes they made in the translation, and I thought it seemed ok. > Do you think Viz's version of MI fulfills the basic > requirement of being entertaining? Is it a good read? Well, I was in tears from laughing very hard on the way back from the comic store, I thought it was pretty funny. I remember thinking how sharp Rumiko Takahashi is as a writer, she knew how to make those characters work! > If you lent some copies of it to someone else, would there > be a good chance of that person actually liking the story? Already happened a few times. Got a friend subscribing too now. Most people who read it liked it, wished it was in color, and wanted to read the next ish. $0.02 please... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 25 Apr 1994 13:20:30 -0700 (PDT) From: "Christopher J. Noe" 3. My knowledge of Japanese is still quite limited, and I don't own the manga or anime in the original language, so I really have no accurate way to evaluate the technical quality of the translation. I can say that I like the story, the characters, and the typical Takahashi gift for creating a very tangible 'reality' for her story. I think their translation is certainly sufficient to attract new readers, and get them hooked - after all, it worked for me. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 25 Apr 94 21:10:11 EDT From: Hayden Brown I guess my review of Viz should read, "Too Americanized." Just what is wrong with setting a love story in Japan, why pretend they are in America? Every time some story from Japan is mass-marketed... seems to pretend that Power Rangers takes place in LA, that Guyver is set there too, and if the Mai movie ever gets made, it will be set in the US also. Why the reluctance to set a show in Japan? Godzilla never tried to pretend it took place in New York! Are Americans too stupid to relate to anything outside their own culture, so it must be removed to be "marketable?" (I don't think so.) Just a short comment. -Hayden --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: lexicor@acs.bu.edu (Yat Siu) To: MHBROW00@ukcc.uky.edu (Hayden Brown) Date: Mon, 25 Apr 94 21:52:20 EDT > Heh heh, forgot to answer that question... I guess my review of Viz > should read, "Too Americanized." Just what is wrong with setting a love > story in Japan, why pretend they are in America? Every time some story Hayden, What's so american about MI? Is Kyoko called Sarah? Is Yusaku called Richard? > from Japan is mass-marketed... seems to pretend that Power Rangers > takes place in LA, that Guyver is set there too, and if the Mai movie > ever gets made, it will be set in the US also. Why the reluctance > to set a show in Japan? Godzilla never tried to pretend What are you talking about? MI gives me an impression that it's in Japan not anywhere else? Is there anyone on this list who for on minute thought MI took place in America??? > it took place in New York! Are Americans too stupid to relate to anything Absolutely not..I think you're being over critical here. There is no indication for me in MI that this takes place anywhere else but Japan. And if you are referring to slurs in the translations then you have to consider that after all they are trying to translate it! Translation infers change...and adaption into English. What's so american about it? The fact that they don't say Konichiwa as supposed to Hello? > outside their own culture, so it must be removed to be "marketable?" (I > don't think so.) I don't think so either...and I don't think the MI Comic Translation is americanized at all... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 25 Apr 94 22:04:39 EDT From: Hayden It's the little things that are removed... like changing takoyaki to cakes, flunk-out instead of Ronin... you know. I learned these basic terminolgy in my freshman Japanese history class (which was in Durham, NC, not very close to Japan). Now, I consider any reasonably Japanese culture/manga buff to understand these things and why remove them? They add flair, difference, to the story. Of course, as you point out, the names etc. point to a Japanese setting. Pin pon. Maison Ikkoku is not disguising the location. But it is disguising the culture. Which is what I was mad (at least tonight) about. Perhaps because I am running too many sas regression analyses on UK's "computer." So consider my remarks today an outlier not in line with other observations and correct for heteroscedasticity. :) Not a flame war now, I'm too busy -Hayden --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 25 Apr 94 22:17 EDT From: "The Fool Eternal" Hmm, you want opinions, you get opinions. Not original opinion, but still valid, I guess. No sir, I don't like it. The physical presentation is sub-par (but then, Viz's transfers have been spiraling downward ever since I started buying translated manga). The translations have Jones' slimy touch all over it. The rendition of -san as "Mr" and the other stop-gaps drove me crazy. I've not gotten it since. Every once in a while, I page through a copy and cringe at the transfers and the akward phrasing. I might not know the original, but I know sub-par English prose when I see it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 25 Apr 1994 22:41:54 -0400 From: "Ryan P. Gavigan" To: MHBROW00@ukcc.uky.edu, lexicor@acs.bu.edu I don't think he means in the location or names, but rather in what ways Japan is different (education system) in terms of custom and or relationships (granted the language one there is a bit tough to "adequately" translate, though things like Souichiro-san could have easily been handled by explaining via footnotes in the first issue and left "as-is" throughout the run, eliminating some of the awkward english wording...) Things also like conveniently removing the juku and moshi concepts, "americanizing" the story that way, imho, is one of the major flaws... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jeff@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Jeff Williamson) Date: Mon, 25 Apr 1994 22:22:36 -0500 (CDT) > 3) What do you think of Viz's translation of Maison Ikkoku? Sporadic. Anywhere from better than adequate to piss-poor. Some things (which have been mentioned in this list before) grate on my nerves to no end (Kyoko Baby and Mr. Flunk-Out, as well as "Mr." Souichiro). For the most part, it is acceptable, if too colloquial. The biggest flaw of Viz's translations, and the mangling of the original that occurs therein, is their complete and utter inability or unwillingness to footnote. If they ever got over that hurdle, their manga translations could only improve for it. > Do you think Viz's version of MI fulfills the basic > requirement of being entertaining? Is it a good read? Yes. I was enjoying the Viz translations for three months before having heard of the anime, and five months before once seeing an original manga volume. It is solid, entertaining stuff which I enjoyed re-reading. Part One #6, in my mind, is probably the best two-chapter set to date (Godai's first date with Kozue, and the Pink Telephone). > If you lent some copies of it to someone else, would there > be a good chance of that person actually liking the story? Easy answer. I have lent the translations to no less than five non-Japanese speakers, ALL of whom enjoyed the story enough to want to read more of it. A few of the aforementioned non-Japanese speakers also find the spelling and grammar of Arctic Animation's subtitles atrocious, by the way. Ja ne! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: lexicor@acs.bu.edu (Yat Siu) Date: Tue, 26 Apr 94 1:20:05 EDT > It's the little things that are removed... like changing takoyaki > to cakes, flunk-out instead of Ronin... you know. I learned these Personally I think these are very minor (valid) points. It certainly adds to the story and small side notes could have been used, but to infer americanization is not IMO being fair to the effort in MI. The term americanization implies change of Names of Characters, change of location, they would then go as far as probably changing a little of the art work to complement true americanization. I personally think it's a flimsy term that implies a lot more negative meaning to it than the VIZ version of MI really is. Also consider that not too many people are aware of many Japanese traditions and names...mind you, sad as it can be...most people wouldn't have a second clue to what takoyaki is..and Japanese Food is only Sushi (many don't even know Sashimi) or Teppanyaki... But most important to me is that MI flows well as an english version...I can read it without feeling that there are any awkward gaps...I understand and appreciate the story and what is happening (personally: the fact that takoyaki wasn't used instead of cake is hardly of importance to the actual story just to use that particular example). > basic terminolgy in my freshman Japanese history class (which was > in Durham, NC, not very close to Japan). Now, I consider any reasonably > Japanese culture/manga buff to understand these things and why remove > them? They add flair, difference, to the story. Well....not all readers of MI are expected to understand these things...but sidenotes (such as in Nausicaa to explain the fictional mecha's or insects) would have been a good idea (Hi Ryan *grin*) > Of course, as you point out, the names etc. point to a Japanese setting. > Pin pon. Maison Ikkoku is not disguising the location. But that's what you were hinting towards your original post...nevermind though, > But it is disguising the culture. Which is what I was mad (at least > tonight) about. Perhaps because I am running too many sas regression What is being disguised? How much is disguised? They changed the names of items and foods into some emglish equivalent...but how bad is it? Are they sleeping on beds rather than futons? Are the characters greeting each other american? Do they say "yo dude!" to close school friends? I think the culture is not disguised...I think that there are certain things that are inevitably lost in any translation...and regardless if you change the name, to understand and learn a different culture does not mean that named elements have to be original..it's IMO more important to the way the people live and behave.... and as a Romantic Comedy..MI is pretty much for the world :-) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 Apr 1994 16:03:27 -0500 (EST) From: "NAME = \"NBA JAM KIng\"" As for the Viz translations, I do notice the slight variations, but I approve of them. I think Viz is trying to make it easier to understand (less Japanese) to get broader appeal. As far as I'm concerned, the more MI fans, the better. Those who notice the alterations probably like the story too much to not get the because of them (that's a mouthful). As for others liking the manga and tapes, I just can't seem to generate the interest in others. I think the lack of fine artwork (compared to today's expectations-the X-Men generation and all that) makes it hard to find visually appealing. And my friends only think the show is "pretty good". They like the humorous tone of the early episodes (and esp. Youtsa) but once the romance enters in more heavily they find it harder to enjoy (at least when a bunch of people are watching). And I can see their point in regards to that. Richard Diaz --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 Apr 1994 23:08:26 -0600 (CST) From: "SOO H NAM" In message Tue, 26 Apr 94 1:20:05 EDT, lexicor@acs.bu.edu (Yat Siu) writes: > Also consider that not too many people are aware of many Japanese traditions > and names...mind you, sad as it can be...most people wouldn't have a second > clue to what takoyaki is..and Japanese Food is only Sushi (many don't even > know Sashimi) or Teppanyaki... > But most important to me is that MI flows well as an english version...I can > read it without feeling that there are any awkward gaps...I understand and > appreciate the story and what is happening (personally: the fact that > takoyaki wasn't used instead of cake is hardly of importance to the actual > story justto use that particular example). > Well....not all readers of MI are expected to understand these things...but > sidenotes (such as in Nausicaa to explain the fictional mecha's or insects) > would have been a good idea (Hi Ryan *grin*) Don't you see that some of the reasons why MI readers and U.S. citizens might not understand some of the things and might be ignorant of other cultures is because we aren't exposed to them (MI readers less so than the general public). LIttle things like changing takoyaki to cake does have an impact because there are so many little things like this that are americanized that we don't notice them. We don't think about the differences between cultures as much because we don't have to. We can notice and appreciate different cultures more often if we actually have to look at the footnote and LEARN what takoyaki, this way we won't think of our country as the object that other countries revolve around (which seems to occur more and more often these days). Because these things have been translated to fit american palates we begin to think that world really is centered around us. We need to learn about other peoples customs because we are probably one of the most ignorant nations in the world (in the sense of knowing others). I myself wouldn't mind reading footnotes and learning about other cultures like you guys want. I remember reading Lone Wolf and Cub which had plenty of footnotes and I thought it was great. I not only got entertained I learned something (and my mom thinks they are a waste of time, Hah). I am also guilty of being ignorant of other cultures since I don't even know what takoyaki is. What does it mean anyway? Maybe the people translating MI are just too lazy. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ryo-oh-ki Lee Date: Wed, 27 Apr 1994 02:06:38 -0500 (CDT) From: "SOO H NAM" % In message Tue, 26 Apr 94 1:20:05 EDT, lexicor@acs.bu.edu (Yat Siu) writes: % > % > Also consider that not too many people are aware of many Japanese traditions % > and names...mind you, sad as it can be...most people wouldn't have a second % > clue to what takoyaki is..and Japanese Food is only Sushi (many don't even % > know Sashimi) or Teppanyaki... Most Americans I know always identify raw fish as "sushi"... *sigh* % > But most important to me is that MI flows well as an english version...I can % > read it without feeling that there are any awkward gaps...I understand and % > appreciate the story and what is happening (personally: the fact that % > takoyakiwasn't used instead of cake is hardly of importance to the actual % > story justto use that particular example). Devil's advocate: MI could have been translated so that the importance of takoyaki was lessened or removed, and so without access to the original material, there is no way from reading the English MI (except for what we see in the panels) of telling whether takoyaki was relevant to the story. % > Well....not all readers of MI are expected to understand these things...but % > sidenotes (such as in Nausicaa to explain the fictional mecha's or insects) % > would have been a good idea (Hi Ryan *grin*) This is a rather strangely interesting comment. As a computer engineer, one of the goals in designing products is *transparency*, i.e. the average user doesn't know about the internal mechanisms, and *shouldn't* know either. So I should be able to use a word-processing program (e.g. MS Word) without caring for what computer I'm using, where the printer or disk drives are, how everything is connected, etc. while still able to get the job done. But if I was an English major, I'd say the exact opposite. If you want to understand a novel, English professors would say that you need to have some kinds of background reading of classic texts, historical interpretations of the novel, archetypes, etc. That is, the more you know, the better you can understand a novel or a story. There are movies that center around food, e.g. "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover" and "Kitchen" (this latter one is an odd Japanese novel and film, strange but fun and light-hearted). I don't think it is fair to suggest that food serves no purpose in story-telling. % Don't you see that some of the reasons why MI readers and U.S. citizens % might not understand some of the things and might be ignorant of other % cultures is because we aren't exposed to them (MI readers less so than the % general public). LIttle things like changing takoyaki to cake does have an % impact because there are so many little things like this that are % americanized that we don't notice them. We don't think about the % differences between cultures as much because we don't have to. We can % notice and appreciate different cultures more often if we actually have to % look at the footnote and LEARN what takoyaki, this way we won't think of our I wonder how Gerard Jones will deal with Godai's request for Kyo^ko to make him some miso soup...? >:-/ % country as the object that other countries revolve around (which seems to % occur more and more often these days). Because these things have been % translated to fit american palates we begin to think that world really is % centered around us. We need to learn about other peoples customs because we % are probably one of the most ignorant nations in the world (in the sense of % knowing others). I myself wouldn't mind reading footnotes and learning % about other cultures like you guys want. I remember reading Lone Wolf and % Cub which had plenty of footnotes and I thought it was great. I not only % got entertained I learned something (and my mom thinks they are a waste of % time, Hah). I am also guilty of being ignorant of other cultures since I % don't even know what takoyaki is. What does it mean anyway? Maybe the % people translating MI are just too lazy. I liked Lone Wolf and Cub because of all the Japanese language & culture footnotes and glossaries they always included. I really got a sense of being there, even from the little things like not changing common units of distance to the English "mile" or metric "kilometer", as they didn't exist there and then. ___/^_^\___ Eugene Lee --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Date: Sun, 1 May 94 04:20:00 UTC > 3) What do you think of Maison Ikkoku in English? > I think it's a "fun" story, well presented. > Do you think Viz's version of MI fulfills the basic > requirement of being entertaining? Is it a good read? > Definitely. It managed to hook ME! ^o^ > 5) It's obvious that purists wince at the many > translating gaffs and the bad judgements that the Viz > team makes. But for the "virgin" reader (i.e., Japanese- > illiterate and with no prior knowledge of the original > version) what are the parts of Viz's translation that > wound the eyes? > Hmmm... Wouldn't call that an astoundingly biased question, would you? I'm not sure I'm ready to accept the notion that because the Viz folks do things that don't sit well with people familiar with the story in its original language and with Japanese culture that this automatically makes these decisions "bad judgments." Presenting the "flavor" of a literary work to an audience with a different linguistic and cultural background than its original audience is an extremely difficult task. I frankly think the Viz folks are doing a very commendable job of presenting the STORY to people like me -- "Japanese-illiterate and with no prior knowledge of the original version." I have seen nothing in the Viz translations yet that wounded MY tired old eyes. (Getting out fire hose to douse flames.) ^o^ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Glenn Singgalang Tarigan Date: Sun, 1 May 1994 14:37:29 -0700 (PDT) Joseph A. Grau wrote: > > Glenn wrote: > > 5) It's obvious that purists wince at the many > > translating gaffs and the bad judgements that the Viz > > team makes. But for the "virgin" reader (i.e., Japanese- > > illiterate and with no prior knowledge of the original > > version) what are the parts of Viz's translation that > > wound the eyes? > > > Hmmm... Wouldn't call that an astoundingly biased question, > would you? I'm not sure I'm ready to accept the notion that > because the Viz folks do things that don't sit well with > people familiar with the story in its original language and > with Japanese culture that this automatically makes these > decisions "bad judgments." Yaah, I *am* biased. I haven't really looked closely at Viz's translation, but from the quick readings I've made, it seems fine-- most of the time. What really bugs me is that they've skipped so many chapters so far. At any rate, it's probably getting tiring to see all this Viz-bashing. Now, I might as well post my own response to the survey... Maybe I've been too harsh on Viz. If one were to consider the original Japanese manga to be "Excellent", the English version is downgraded to "Very Good". It would take a lot to destroy Ms.Takahashi's original work. You could make similar comparisons with Carl Macek's work. I haven't seen Robotech in a few years, but back then, I really liked it (I also liked their Fist of the North Star movie dub :). I didn't notice it myself, but other people have said that the rewritten dialogue in Robotech is really bad. Still, what's left of the original work is quite good, and the same thing applies in Maison Ikkoku's case. In the end, the major thing stopping MI and similar manga from proliferating in North America is that the genre just doesn't sell that well. The market isn't friendly to it, yet. Shoujo manga is even more worse off. >> >> 1) Do you regularly buy Viz's translation of MI? >> Never have, and never will (with regard to the 40-page issues). When I first got hooked on comics in 1990, I bought hundreds of those North American type comics (you know, the ones that never exceed 64 pages in length, and come out once a month, or even less frequently). About a year or two later, I got sick of them. Now I only buy compilation volumes. They're much easier to handle and take care of. Sure, the smaller issues have more color artwork, but that doesn't outweigh the disadvantages of the format. Besides, with my poor eyesight, I could do just as well with GIFs and JPEGs. :) >> How many copies does your comics store usually get each >> month? Do they sell well? Actually the second question "Do they sell well?" is somewhat redundant. It's clear that, by now, any comics store will only stock as many copies as they can expect to sell. If a store purchases 20 issues every month, they will sell almost all 20 of them. MI is not a new comic anymore, so they know how many they need to keep in stock (and avoid having to store back-issues). If anything, comics stores tend to underbuy so that they're guaranteed to sell-out. I visit two comics stores fairly frequently (enough to be there whenever they get their shipments of Maison Ikkoku): "Golden Age" and "Tazmanian Comics". For fun and for non-profit, I did a quick phone-poll of a number of comics stores in my area and this is what I found out: Store Name: Number of copies of MI they stock each month: ----------- --------------------------------------------- Gotham Cards and Collectibles 3 or 4 Tazmanian Comics 6 Golden Age I would guess about 7 to 10 Comic Land about 10 ABC Book and Comic Emporium 10 The Comicshop about 12 Note: The stores are listed in order from smallest to largest. The smallest store is about the size of my living room, while the biggest store dedicates about three times as much space for its comics section. (Vague enough for ya?) Anyway, a store's size has a pretty good correlation to the number of comics it sells each month. It's indicative of how mediocre Maison Ikkoku is selling when you note that The Comicshop (which is the biggest comics store in British Columbia-- there is a population of 1 million in the immediate area) gets only a dozen copies each month. One guy I talked to mentioned that Ranma 1/2 is selling several times as many issues (no surprise, really). He did assure me that they will continue to stock issues of MI, though. >> >> 2) Will you be buying Viz's compilation volumes of MI? >> I don't know what came over me. For a short while I almost gave in and considered buying their compilation volumes. If I wanted to get my friends interested in MI, I might buy their compilation volumes. But I think I'll save my money for the videotapes. The anime version is probably a better hook to grab new fans than the manga. >> This source also tells me that Viz is currently >> weighing the pros and cons of doing a (subtitled-only) >> release of MI episodes state-side. I'd buy it! On the other hand, one wonders how their subtitles would turn out. They have yet to come out with the Ranma subtitles; there's no track record to speak of. Will it be mangled? Will they mess it up by using "Mr.Souichiro", "Mr. Flunk-out", or "Yusaku" in the subtitles? Will they skip episodes? I had said: >> ( I'd especially like to hear opinions from those of you >> who don't know Japanese, and even more so from those of you >> who first found out about MI through Viz's translation. ) Very few of my friends (outside of the Net, at least) know Japanese, and about the same number don't know MI. That's why I wanted to get opinions from those kinds of people. I haven't actually thought much about whether Viz's translation stands well on its own. That's probably just as important as whether or not it compares well with the original. >> >> 3) What do you think of Maison Ikkoku in English? >> I made up this Informal Poll in the first place because I haven't actually ever sat down and read any of the Viz issues (apart from speed reading it tachiyomi style). <.5. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- .6.> gary j kacmarcik on 94.08.09: Glenn wrote: > (Due to philosophical differences, I don't buy *anything* Viz publishes.) i find it a lot easier to get my friends addicted to MI using the english versions. then i pull the old switcheroo ("well, yaknow, not _all_ the chapters have been translated into english..."). heh, heh, heh ^_^ > Does Viz leave the original YEN figures in their translation, or do > they convert it to American dollars? they avoid the issue (kindof - they imply US$) <.6. ______________________________________________________________________________ ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- End of Maison Ikkoku Guidebook : Viz Translations Copyright 1996 by the Misery Loves Company