I wrote this report last year. Then I went to Minnesota and Chicago in America. My teacher said to us that we have to write some difference between Japan and America. So I chose this theme because I like reading comic books very much.
I will explain about the difference of Shonen Jump which we read in Japan and its American version. I chose this theme because I like reading Japanese comic books. So I wanted to know some difference points between Japan and America. While I stayed in Minnesota, I bought a Shonen Jump written in English there. The Shonen Jump is a famous comic magazine in Japan. I have been reading Shonen Jump comic books since I was a junior high school student.
First of all, it was difficult for me to find Shonen Jump in America. We can get it easily in Japan. For example, we have convenience stores, and can buy it there. However, I didn’t find convenience stores in Minnesota. I went to Seven Eleven in Chicago, but it looked like a small-time candy store and there wasn’t Shonen Jump. Also, I looked for it in Rosedale, however, that bookstore had only comic books. I asked my host family to help me. They cooperated with me, but it was not easy. Finally, I bought it in Minneapolis.
Next, I show you some different points between the original and the American version. Before that, I want to tell you about what I was surprised. I had thought American Shonen Jump opens left-to-right because foreign comic books are made as much. But it weren’t so. They are opens right-to-left like original version. It is interesting, but has some problems. One of them is reading is not easy because of English are written horizontally.
(１) Weekly or Monthly
The formal name of Shonen Jump is the Weekly Shonen Jump. As its name suggests, this magazine is sold every Monday. On the other hand, the American version is sold once a month. So stories progress very slowly in America. For example, the ONE-PIECE, a comic which is very popular in the world is listed under both Japanese and American versions. When I bought the American version, the story counter was 594. But in Japan, the story has already reposed on comic.
(２) The number of serial comics
The original Shonen Jump has twenty-one serial comics every week, but American version has only nine stories. These works are both Japan and America. ONE PIECE, BLEACH, NARUTO, BAKUMAN., TORIKO, and Nurarihyon no mago are. Also, Nurarihyon no mago is called Nura rise on the Yokai clan in English. I found that American version lists just popular works. ONE-PIECE, NARUTO, BLEACH, YU-GI-OH are that examples. And, even if it was finished being serialized in Japan, it is still reposed in America. For example, there is PSYLEN. Moreover, there are some different magazine’s comics. For example, Ultimo and YU-GI-OH 5D’s are. They are listed on the Shonen Jump SQ in Japan.
(３) The singular or the plural
In original version, there are some public announcements here and there. These are made by all same publishing company, Shueisha. The other side, I found there was Pikachu in American version. Pocket Monster’s company is Shogakukan. So there are various companies advertisements in American Shonen Jump.
(４) Price
Original Shonen Jump is two-hundred and forty nine yen. In contrast, American version is $4.99. One is a weekly magazine, and the other is a monthly one. $1 equals 77 yen in America now. We can say that Japanese Shonen Jump’s price is almost as same as it of American’s one.
(５) Quality of the paper
I think that Japanese original version’s paper is better than American’s one. American version’s paper can broke very easily. I heard that Asian people and Westerner have different publishing cultures and reading habits. The Asian people strain about a quality and a design of books, and many people keep having these books for long time. However, Westerner doesn’t do such a thing. They think that “reading is consumption,” so it not seldom happens that people go to travel with some books and throw them after they finished reading during the traveling.
I had a question about how change Japanese into English. So I searched and compared. Well, I’m going to explain you how to translation from Japanese to English.
①Sounds effects are changed to verb. For example, the sound of turn is “Kuru” in Japanese. It changes to “Fwip”. And the sound of opening door is “Gacha” in Japanese. It turns to “Kachak” in English.
②There are different points between Japan and America. For example, title of honor, honorifics, and the Japanese original culture such as paying a visit to a Shinto shrine. If it appears on comics, translator needs to search it, or writes in Japanese directly, and explain it out of columns.
Also I learned that to be a translator, they needs to know both countries’ cultures and enjoy translating. I have been interested in a translator since I was a junior high school student, so it was a good chance for me to add this job for my future.
By the way, I think there are some poor translations on American version. For example, by ONEPIECE, one of the main characters Nami, she tried to leave from her group to protect her village. She broke faith and cheated her friends. After other members knew these were untruths, she asked them to help with crying. Then the captain Luffy says that “Atarimaeda!!” It was one of the most memorable and moving scene in ONEPIECE. However, he said just “O.K!!” on American version. My friends and I were very sad. I think it is too wasteful not to tell Japanese expression in English.
As a conclusion, I can say that American Shonen Jump is not popular as same as Japanese one. The people I asked about the Shonen Jump knew just that’s name. There are listed only popular comics on American version. Also, American Shonen Jump will reborn since this March as digital books. It is because the publish company thought that publishing by paper was no good. Now everyone say Japanese comic is famous and popular in the world. But in fact, it is one part yet, I think. I believed it somehow before I went to Minnesota. I’m glad to go there and know the truth.
1095 / 6238 words
1095 / 6238 words
