2008-04-17, 21:46 | Link #941 | |
Homo Ludens
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Canada
Age: 34
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http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/children/index.html |
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2008-04-17, 21:47 | Link #942 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
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I had a lot of misgivings when I first heard that they were licensing the novels, but now that I've gone around and looked at what people have to say about Yen Press, I feel reassured. A lot of the things they said on that AnimeonDVD thread made me feel a little warm inside, lol. A Japanese translated novel getting -- gasp -- promotion like any other book? That makes me happy because as far as I've experienced, most light novels get little to no promotion.
The only downside to all this is that we'll probably have to wait even longer to read that 10th volume... OTL (Though I guess that at the rate at which each volume is being released now, the official translation will have caught up by the time the next volume comes out. xD) |
2008-04-17, 21:49 | Link #944 | |
Homo Ludens
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Canada
Age: 34
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2008-04-17, 22:02 | Link #946 |
Banned
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Well I have to be honest, I never felt there was much of a serious plot to begin with. It's mostly a series of vignettes or an episodic style of storytelling so it's kind of hard to mangle a narrative unless you are really incompetent. Though the kid's book label does raise more than a few questions. I guess they looked at it and saw it as a fantasy type novel about a girl doing fun things, which it kind of is albeit with some mature themes. There isn't really a whole lot objectionable about the series though in all honesty so it's possible they could market it under a Harry Potter type mechanism of books for Kidults or whatever.
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2008-04-17, 22:09 | Link #948 | |
Homo Ludens
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Canada
Age: 34
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It DOES have a serious plot. Vol. 4 anyone? |
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2008-04-17, 22:38 | Link #950 |
SIDE
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So I checked the Rightstuf preorder page to see if I could get any more information about ratings or anything, and on there it's listed as being rated 16+.
And I mean, the most questionable things in the novels I can really think of are Mikuru's boobs and Asakura's stabbity tiemz. It's no worse than any American young adult novel, there's nothing for them to really censor assuming they are hitting the 16+ bracket like the site claims. 'Children's publisher' encompasses everything through young college age, really. And to anyone who says young adult books don't have deep plots... my library of young adult fantasy, let me show you it. |
2008-04-17, 22:41 | Link #951 | |
Banned
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And yes I picked the term Kidult deliberately because that was the show that took Haruhi's time slot after it ended way back when, sort of as a way of emphasizing the amount of things that have come to pass since the show ended and we saw the novels licensed. That was the first thing to happen since the end of Haruhi that started the wait for people, that song more or less. |
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2008-04-17, 22:46 | Link #952 | |||
Homo Ludens
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Canada
Age: 34
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2008-04-17, 23:52 | Link #953 | |
Bittersweet Distractor
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 32
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My only hope is that these guys won't turn out like Viz because I'll seriously take Japanese classes to get over this crap.
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2008-04-17, 23:55 | Link #954 | ||
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
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All of the character personalities remain the same as we know them, though. Haruhi will be excited to actually be meeting (and conspiring) with aliens, time travelers, etc., and it will be burning her up inside that she can't tell Kyon about it. For an example of how this will change things, the altered version of "Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody" has Mikuru and Haruhi going back in time and finding a younger Kyon who is helping the younger Haruhi draw the symbols on the school field. Younger Haruhi of course fails to identify her older self, who only gives her name as "Jane Smith" to the younger pair. Afterward, Mikuru (Big) uses her sleep hypospray (or whatever it is) on young Kyon, which makes him think it was a dream--explaining why he has no further contact with Haruhi till high school and doesn't fully remember having met her before. I have no idea just yet how "Disappearance" will go, though, but that's a while from now. Quote:
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2008-04-18, 00:54 | Link #955 |
Story Master
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Re: The licensing of the SH novels ... How's this for a scheme? What if a small-time, independent translation agency (Yes, I know one) approaches Little Brown and offers them a bulk purchase of the translation of the first nine volumes of SH (Baka-Tsuki's, obviously), initially done as 'practice' for 'personal entertainment', rather than commercial reasons.
Point out to Little Brown that these translations only need a bit of editing now and that the independent agency is willing to sell them for a considerably lower price than they'd have to pay to another translation agency for starting from scratch. If they go for it, we have something very close to Baka-Tsuki's translations hitting the shelves, Little Brown has a good reason to get started on the fresh translation of volume 10 (or might even subcontract to said translation agency, which can then submit the request to the Baka-Tsuki team, if they're interested) and it might not take years and years and years for the light novels to reach the fans. And to top it all off, there might be a nice little bit of earnings in it both for the agency in question and for the Baka-Tsuki team, which might be an incentive. Alright, I am ready for your brutal reality checks ... |
2008-04-18, 01:52 | Link #957 | |
Random Object
Join Date: Dec 2007
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On a different note, I've thought about the banner they're publishing it under and have actually almost agreed to the label. Haruhi really is sorta flavored for the low teen audience in a way that Harry Potter was. While coming to terms with this was rather insightful, I obviously still have my reserves about translation butchering.
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2008-04-18, 01:55 | Link #958 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
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Ok, if they are paying attention AT ALL, then they will at the very least need a professional translator that they trust to go over the scripts with a fine-toothed comb to ensure that they aren't being sold a pig in a poke. This will bring its own delays, etc. Additionally, they will have to overcome the "Not Invented Here" syndrome.
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2008-04-18, 06:09 | Link #959 |
Shiori~
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As for as licensing, I honestly think this was the best case scenario. Viz, Tokyopop, and Seven Seas can't advertise their novel lines AT ALL. Getting a real book publisher + Yen Press and expect actual advertising of the books/manga. I'm expecting the same sort of quality as Yen Press's manga line and don't expect them to censor stuff out.
Maybe I'm a tad optimistic. Though I kinda wish the prices for the novels were just a tad cheaper, but I'm ordering them off Amazon as soon as I see them~
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Tags |
shounen, sneaker bunko, seinen, light novels, manga |
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