Interview with a Manga Translator!

How does it feel to be a Manga Translator? Mainichi took the task to answer that question and made an interview for our reading pleasure. The Manga translator interviewed is Simona Stanzani from Italy!

Simona Stanzani has translated a number of hit manga titles, including “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” and “NANA” (both published by Shueisha), and believes that manga and anime are important parts of Japan’s culture. The following interview took place, not in a maid cafe, but in a “megane & suits cafe,” where the male waiters all wear suits and glasses.

MDN: How did you become such an otaku?

Simona Stanzani (SS): When I was a child, many Japanese anime were already being shown on TV in Italy, such as “Lady Oscar,” “Aim for the Ace” and “Rocky Joe.”

The first time we Italians realized that the anime were from Japan was when “Grendizer,” the anime adaption of Go Nagai’s manga began. Before that, anime such as “Heidi” were European stories and the drawings were not so different from Disney’s, so we didn’t really think much of where they had come from.

But Grendizer was such a culture shock that you couldn’t possibly ignore the fact it was Japanese. It had all sorts of weird aliens modeled after Japanese demons. After Grendizer, the second most famous was “Captain Herlock.” I think all the boys wanted to be Herlock.

MDN: I heard you wore a black dress when your favorite character died.

SS: I get moved very easily when watching a movie or reading a manga, so I cried so much over anime like “Candy Candy,” saying, “Oh no! They didn’t meet again!” I think the Japanese are really good at doing this setsunai thing. Setsunai is hard to translate, but to me it has something to do with solitude. It’s a very Japanese way of making people cry, I think.

MDN: So it was manga that prompted you to study Japanese?

SS: Studying the Japanese language actually came as a consequence of my love for manga. I wanted to become a cartoonist, but there was no market in Italy at that time. So my first logical thought was, “Of course I’m going to study Japanese to live in Japan and draw manga.” So I did a two-year intensive course in Japanese at the University of Bologna.

I also studied banking and bookkeeping, which may prompt you to ask, “Why?” I did it because I knew I was not going to work in a company, so if I wanted to be a freelancer, then I had to be able to look after my money.

MDN: I heard that you practiced Japanese through correspondence with pen pals.

SS: I once had a Japanese music magazine, and there was a pen pal corner so I wrote I was looking for pen friends in Japanese and English. Then I got 200 letters! I replied to everybody and I kept 50, and it was like every day I was receiving letters and writing back. I actually learned kanji from those letters.

Obviously I was not speaking Japanese, but they did send me tapes with their favorite songs. So I learned a lot of Japanese songs, for example BOOWY, Yutaka Ozaki and of course a lot of anime songs. This is kind of how I learned speaking Japanese, listening to Japanese songs, and watching anime tapes they sent me as well.

MDN: And you started translating in 1992?

SS: At the beginning, there was a four-person team of editors called the “Kappa Boys,” and I started working with them. And one of the big Italian publishers they worked for introduced manga in 1992. They contacted me asking if I would like to translate, and I replied, “Yes. Why not? Then, I’ll be able to read them before anybody else!” I don’t think I’ve ever stopped translating manga since that job started.

My first job was the translation of the original manga of “Ghost in the Shell”, which was really hard, especially since I’d just learned how to use computers at that time and wasn’t very familiar with the concepts. Ghost in the Shell includes so much cyberpunk stuff, such as cyborg humans whose brains are directly connected to the Internet.

MDN: This is a labor of love for you.

SS: Of course. Sometimes you have to translate stuff you don’t like, but apart from that, the only pressure that I really have is my deadlines. It’s the freedom, really. Also, I welcome a challenge, and I’m a very positive person, so I can always find the bright side even in the worst situation. Even when translating is very hard, on the next page there might be something really amazing. I’m very happy with my job.

MDN: Could you please conclude with a general statement about manga and anime?

SS: I think that manga and anime are a very important part of Japanese culture, and that, at their highest level, they have a pivotal role in modern communication art.

It is time to get rid of the ancient, outdated concept of “if you read manga you become stupid” or to consider them mere commercial entertainment; of course a big share of them is made to sell, but even the most commercial titles do have artistic and cultural value.

Japanese should be proud of anime and manga, because they are very strong and unique means of expression, and a symbol of excellence for Japanese culture in the world.

Profile: Born in Bologna. A self-styled “professional otaku,” who has translated Japanese and anime into English and Italian. Her first published translation was “Ghost in the Shell” in 1992 and went on to work on many other works, including “BLEACH” and “D. Gray-man.” She re-located to Japan in 2007. Her favorite manga character is Sosuke Aizen from “BLEACH.”

Source: Mainichi

The interview was fascinating and proves that if you want something, just go for it with great effort and dedication.  After all, it is a labor of love!

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