4 ms·
It's a clash of ideals, for sure. A commercial company avoids literal translations for obvious reasons; you want to ingratiate yourself with as large an audienc
by least 4y ago
It's a clash of ideals, for sure. A commercial company avoids literal translations for obvious reasons; you want to ingratiate yourself with as large an audience as possible and using terminology that most people don't understand is alienating. Putting a translator's note to educate viewers about Japanese culture isn't really an option.
Fan translations don't have the same restrictions in place and while it can lead to infamous examples like the keikaku one you mentioned, it can be much more enlightening, enriching, and enjoyable. Most of the time they help provide cultural context and some of these are widespread enough in anime fandom that even the official translations will use things like honorifics.
Ultimately, I think it's good to have both. I view it as sort of the "introductory" level and the "intermediate" level of anime watching.