Titan Comics has gone under fire for its poor translations of the first two manga volumes of Kamen Rider Kuuga.As reported by Anime News Network, some readers have noted that several pages from the first two volumes of Kamen Rider Kuuga appear machine-translated, making for a "clunky" and otherwise unintelligible reading experience. However, many fans have pointed out that the preview pages released on Jan. 20 by Titan Comics have far better translations than the official volumes. Kaylyn Saucedo (@/MarzGurl), an anime subtitles editor and voice actor, posted examples from Volumes 1 and 2, commenting, "This translation is rough, stilted. At best it's bland and without personality. At worst, it's unclear to the point of confusion. Every character sounds the same, with no personality. Sentence structure is backwards to English because it still looks like Japanese."
Titan Comics has since commented on the situation, saying they "appreciate the fans bringing this to our attention." The statement says the early draft pages, consisting of three pages from Volume 1 and four from Volume two, "were translated for marketing purposes, as we wanted to get the artwork out as soon as possible for the fans. These may still be circulating on the web."
The publishing company continues, "The actual translation for the printed books (approved by Titan and licensors) were worked on by two highly respected translators in the business. We're thrilled to be releasing such a beloved franchise as Kamen Rider Kuuga to English-language audiences, and value the fans' comments." The official Twitter account currently has disabled replies to their Tweet, but this has not deterred fans from expressing their dissatisfaction through quote-retweets.
Kamen Rider Kuuga is the manga adaptation of the Japanese superhero television series and the 14th installment of the Kamen Rider Series franchise. Based on the original series by Shotaro Ishinomori with art by Hitotsu Yokoshima and script by Toshiki Inoue (Kamen Rider Hibiki and Kamen Rider Kiva), Kamen Rider Kuuga follows detective Kaoru Ichijo as he investigates a string of murders. Meanwhile, a young man named Yusuke Godai finds himself drawn to a mysterious belt and becomes the new Kuuga.
Kamen Rider Kuuga Vol. 3 is set for release on March 14.
Source: Anime News Network, Twitter