Artist Acro - Ch 7 (English)

 

All right, new title, let's go!

...I guess I'm going to do weekly updates again or something? With BK off my plate I was thinking about giving myself a break and laying off the translating and editing for a bit, but... hahahaha that didn't happen. I was too excited, and am even more so now after going through the first couple chapters :D

So some stuff I'd like to rant about because this space is my virtual vomit board - 

• Holy hell these chapters are SHORT. Even with all the volume-start character intros, synopses and title pages, this chapter only contained 24 pages. That's half what a typical BK chapter was. I always knew BK chapters were hella long, but it's kind of a shock how short these ones are. The short length means they end really weirdly, so just a headsup to not get too blindsided by that.

• Aaaand... even though they're short, these chapters are not that easy to scanlate. It's kind of amazing how difficult it is to switch to another series - the style is incredibly different, creating kind of a new learning curve to get over. The writing style is quite different making the translating a lot harder, there's a gazillion weird SFX, the bubbles are really long and narrow ugh-- I'm kind of disappointed with how badly this first chapter turned out, but I'm hoping it'll get better as I get used to Sakurai-sensei's style. Another heads up not to get blindsided by the trash quality! :')

• Finally, I've decided to write short blurbs of my thoughts at the end of each chapter. I really wanted to do this for BK, but the most natural place to put it (in posts) would be spoilery, and like... who cares about my thoughts?? Well too bad I ain't holdin' back no more as it kind of defeats the purpose of this brain dump blog, so look forward to my post-chapter thoughts! But don't actually. 

Okay, all that's off my chest now! Without further ado, here's my first delve into Artist Acro by Sakurai Ato, Chapter 7, typseset in English.

Also on the Artist Acro page.

Buster Keel - Ch 47 (English)

Here we are folks, Chapter 47 of Buster Keel, the final chapter!!! Scanlated by yours truly!!! Holy Gamoly I did it. Bear with me if you're reading this, this post is gonna be more of a text wall than usual. I got things to say!

I do want to ramble a bit about the process (as I tend to do in each post) - this one was a HUGE PAIN, and not even just because of funky bubbles or crazy redraws (though there was some of that of course), but I went all-out with the volume-end stuff. I fully edited Ravi's map, translated four paragraphs of text in the bonus, translated the super-long afterword AND THEN, wrote two extra walls of text to explain said afterword. Also on one specific page I decided instead of captioning the Japanese on a sign I would edit it out, and it was curved so I spent maybe a good hour just trying to figure out how the hell paths in GIMP work and how to make text curve pleasingly. I'll know I succeeded if it's totally unnoticeable :')

But yeah basically this chapter took extra long not just because of the extra volume-end content, but also because I made some decisions to add to my own work load... :D

Anyway, that's it! I did what I set out to do, and not only read this awesome series to the end on my own, but also edited and posted it so y'all can read it too if ya read English! It's been a bit over a year since I started and I'm stoked as hell that it came out like this. My Japanese has improved loads and I found a hobby that I really enjoy. So thanks to all you internet anons who enjoyed this series enough to track it down to my back-alley Blogger site, seeing your views and getting your comments really drove me to work hard on this series and improve! Despite all the anxiety about having people look at my work, it has been super nice that it happened and I'm glad some of you joined me for the ride. Keep on enjoying manga, and don't forget to support the authors' hard work!

Thanks again for reading and hope you will enjoy Buster Keel! Chapter 47 (Final Chapter), typeset in English!

Also on the Buster Keel page.

Buster Keel - Ch 46 (English)

 

Chapter 46, Part 4 of the final arc!! Frick this one nails me right in the feels ;___; I hope I did the original some justice here. Just one more chapter to go! Ahhhhhhh-

> Buster Keel! Chapter 46, typeset in English,

> Also on the Buster Keel page.

Buster Keel - Ch 45 (English)

 

We getting into the series-end art ;__; Look at the setting flashbacks in that background... *sniffle* There's Sunshine City, Heartful Land, the Desert, the hot springs village + mountain, Shinaz Island, Tenjiku, and more I can't pick out/remember the name of lol.

But were not done just yet!!! This' chapter 45 of Buster Keel, leaving two more to go! I... I'm not sure how to feel about this one, it's a bit of a mixed bag among what happens and how it happens (holy sheet and huh? respectively). And then the typesetting on this one continues to be kinda shitty, sorry - all the shounen yelling works well in vertical bubbles when it's Japanese, but in English... it's struggles. I can't hear it at all, but maybe y'all will? :) 

Anyway, hope your eyeballs won't bleed from reading Buster Keel! Chapter 45, typeset in English!

Also on the Buster Keel page.

--

P.S. I know this is late but feel free to let me know in whatever medium you wish about dumb mistakes I'm making on this site/in the scans, like broken links, confusing typos, missing/mixed up pages, etc. This blog is getting a bit unwieldy and it's my fault, let me know it.

Buster Keel - Ch 44 (English)

 

Buster Keel! Chapter 44!!! Start of Volume 12, the final volume!!!!! This is crazy. I'm really going to finish reading this awesome series :') after all those years of empty waiting...... who says impatience is a bad thing?

This chapter was another wonky one to typeset. For once, having really square bubbles was an absolute pain... there always seemed to be too much space around the text, or the words themselves were too small, or they couldn't be split in an aesthetically pleasing manner... and then the handful of new fonts I've been using couldn't seem to adequately encapsulate the effect or emotion I was looking for. So, yeah, please take some creative liberty and spoof up what's there for me.

(...Is it just me or is that cover kinda...... uncool?)

Anyways, enough of that! This chapter's pretty crazy, as we launch full-force into the final arc of this series. So buckle up and tighten those straps, and please enjoy Buster Keel! Chapter 44, typeset in English.

Also on the Buster Keel page.

Next Title~

Once I'm done scanlating Buster Keel, I'm going to pick up Artist Acro by Sakurai Ato!

Mangadex description:

"Once upon a time, artists were able to use their special skills freely, until seven years ago with a group of artists began using souls as raw materials for their work. Now society lives in fear of artists as a young man named Acro Hamburger travels to the capital city to ply his trade as a sculptor and to realize his dream of becoming a great artist."

I read volume 1 (up on MangaDex by Project Kurai Ryu) and really liked the comedic and fantasy elements, so was pretty bummed that it only had 6 chaps scanlated 2 years ago. But now, with my noob Japanese skills and Google Translate, I can muddle my way through the rest >:)

Anyway, though I couldn't resist and bought the remaining volumes (2-9) off Honto already ($28USD yo!), plan is to finish BK first. Probably can't handle doing multiple series in parallel. 

Buster Keel - Ch 43 (English)

Awright, BK! Chapter 43 is done! I hope you're ready for this one, because I sure wasn't!! I low-key hurt myself just transcribing the text out of the raw for this one because of how tense it made me - should be safe for you normal folks out there though :) I'm just way too invested in this series. 

This marks the end of Volume 11! Was really motivated by how intense everything was so it went really quick haha. I am damn thrilled with the work I've done so far and I'm so happy other people are finding it and enjoing it as well (after I get over the social anxiety part first). Not sure exactly when I'll get around to working on Vol. 12, but the end is in sight, we're in home stretch now, and I'm ready to see this through to the end!

Anyway, please enjoy Buster Keel! Chapter 43, typeset in English.

Also on the Buster Keel page.

Buster Keel - Ch 42 (English)

Whew, this' Chapter 42, part 7 of the Feast of the Gods! I'm really channeling all my obsessive powers into churning out these chapters. Somehow each chapter gets more intense than the last, so I can't wait and see what the next one holds... pretty awesome to be able to get my updates on my own when I want them! :D I've gotten to the point where I don't have to put every single line into Google Translate (and half the time it's just some kind of screaming), so as I mentioned (in my previous incoherent post) I've been translating on the fly during the editing stage. Not only does this speed up the scanlating process quite a bit, but it's also a much more satisfying experience for me where I can sorta double-dip into the reader role, being able to see the translations for the first time in context.

Anyway, exciting stuff in these chapters, and things inch ever closer to towards the end! Honestly I've just been squealing at my screen the whole time I was editing this, so... I hope y'all enjoy this at least a bit as much as I am. Will be keeping these blurbs spoiler-free (in case someone actually reads them), so go ahead and read Buster Keel! Chapter 42, typeset in English. 

Also on the Buster Keel page!

Oh yeah, I also added a sort of banner image at the top. It was a really good panel from 41, and this was the most relevant place to put it. It looks really obnoxious and the things I had to twist to get stupid Blogger to display it there were equally obnoxious, but it's there and it's still cool so ha.

Buster Keel - Ch 41 (English)

Uhh, so here's chapter 41, yeah it's only been four days, I translated while editing so it went faster, the shit that happens in this made me go faster,,,,,

Pardon me while I muffle my screaming in the nearest pillow whilst trying to clean up all the unexpected feels that are strewn all over the floor...

>> Buster Keel! Chapter 41, typeset in English

>> Also on the Buster Keel page.

Buster Keel - Ch 40 (English)

Awright, Volume 11, let's go! Second-last volume in the Buster Keel! series - dang we're getting close to the end here. Took a bit longer to churn this one out due to my free time being eaten up by other distractions. Thankfully no crazy redrawing this time around, just me letting my attentions wander. Also, what is up with the new Blogger interface not letting me put my text next to the picture?? I could do it for the last two posts since I started using the new interface, but it's refusing to cooperate today. So I've given up and the pic's getting stranded up there alone from now on (this changes nothing for the mobile site though apparently).

Anyway, Chapter 40 is... interesting, marking the point at which basically everything starts going to pot. Look forward to the ensuing chaos! Also... Sakamoto-sensei's designs and art never fail to let me down, but... ew. 

Disregard me. Hope you enjoy Buster Keel! Chapter 40, typeset in English.

Also on the Buster Keel page.