Hi there, I really don't know where to post this thread, but seeing it's part suggestion. Can we add the WN at the end of the title for this novel, cause from what I'm seeing and reading, we only have the web novel version on the site and currently no one is actively translating the Light novel version.
Yes, but you must admit that not a lot of user will take the time to actually read the character on the side of the webpage. The reason I ask is too avoid the confusion because the Light novel version has been recently license by J-Novel Club, but the web novel version is not. I already started seeing a few comments on the recent chapters release that people are mistaking it for the Light version. I already edited some part, like replacing the original publisher of "Hobby Japan" to "Syosetu"
Wouldn't that be more of an issue on the translators end? They should be the people that inform the readers that it's the WN, not the LN. NU already states that it's the WN.
The WN and LN in titles are usually only used of both versions are being translated. They are not used if only one of them is being translated (and official English releases from publishers don't count)
With all due respect, the Web Novel translation of this title is subpar. There are multiple reviews on the listing page pointing out issues with the translation and grammar. As the official translator of Isekai Smartphone, I wouldn't want anyone looking at these reviews and mistaking them as complaints for my work. I would appreciate it if the page could make it more clear that it's not representing the LN version (and my TL by extension). Sorry, why do English releases not count? I'm a bit unfamiliar with how the community is here so I'd just like to know why that is. You'd think that official English releases would supersede fan translations, at the very least when the fan effort is an edited machine TL.
You don't have to worry about the confusion part, NU links only fantranslations, no review on this site ever talks about the official release. As for the part of not comparing with the official one, it is simply because the people that browse NU usually read titles for free, the official translations is simply out of the reach of the great majority of users in here. Also, plenty of fantranslators do this as a hobby, not as something they do for a living, so it is already expected that the quality will be lower than the official product. The main reason is the former though, comparing something that most people in here read with something else that almost nobody on the community has read is... Kinda useless overall.
Thanks, though I would note that not everyone looking at the site is familiar with how it catalogues things or aware that it only lists fan translations. It's very high on google search results, so the uninitiated could easily wander in, see poor reviews, and be none the wiser about it referring to the inferior release. I'd be satisfied if it were made a little more clear that it isn't referring to the full LN. Don't really want to start a whole thing, but "they do it for free" is definitely no excuse for poor quality. I could show you pages of things from when I was a fan translator that, while not as good as my work these days, is at least passable. In this case, the WN translation for Smartphone is done by people who explicitly state they have no knowledge of Japanese and edit machine output. It's not really a translation at all. Either way, thanks for your concise reply! It was informative.
Glad to help! As for the quality thing, I know it's no excuse, but hey! Free stuff, I'm not one to complain about that! If they can do an awesome job? Great! If they can't? Also good, better than having less things to read IMO. Kinda like... Beggars can't be choosers? Something like that. I mean, some people read even unedited Machine Translations, I would read an edited one any day over that. Of course, a proper translation would be preferred, but I'm happy with what I can get.