[Skane]

Originally Posted by Vexx

The real question with "official" subtitles is whether they choose
1) to stay pretty literal (straight grammatical translation with no flair or slang) or
2) put it terms that would "spiritually equivalent" (harder to do but more satisfying results) .... or
3) localize it (usually a losing result aka "Have a donut" == "Please enjoy a mochi").

So far mostly in official subs I find choice 1 .... occasionally I trip across choice 3 (omfg kill it) but fortunately that is pretty rare and usually for genre I find uninteresting anyway. Fansub groups tend to hit the choice 2 more often ("gambatte" does have more than one translation after all depending on the context).

Actually, you can see all three in action from the Kanon fansubbers. Amongst the main three at least.

1. This would be [SS-Eclipse]. I was following them at first, but some of the translations threw me off, because it just did not flow well in my train of thought. You would need to think in Japanese in order to get some of the subtitles.
   
   On one hand, their translation is accurate, but on the other hand, it just feels weird when you try to compute it on an English train of thought. This additional computing detracts from the viewing experience, and breaks immersion.
   .
2. Meet [TWH][Sprocket]. I actually find it easier to follow their subtitles, because it just flows better in English. Some grammatical mistakes, but understandable due to their speed of fansubbing.
   .
3. Finally, we have [a.f.k.]. I decided to switch over to [a.f.k.] for better immersion. However, I do take some issue with their translator's habit of 'Americanising' some of the things in Kanon.
   
   Especially the names... I really don't like it when they arrange the names in the western order, especially when the spoken dialogue conflicts with what is written on the screen. I'm irked by this more because I'm Chinese, and it just feels weird to read a name in the western order, when it is meant to be the other way round.
   
   That said, most of their localisation are still believable, even in a Japanese context. Such as Yuuichi's comment on how Ayu can still order Happy Meals without feeling embarrassed( the others wrote it as Kid's/Children's Meals).

Cheers.