#I was wondering whether to tag this JuAli cuz it's an unsorted discussion between me and Cinna copy pasted from our Discord discussions

[stepswowdsen]

【Magi】 JuAli Omake Rambles 🖤❤️💛

Snippets from a REALLY long convo I had with my friend Cinna (@/cinnamononions) who was reacting to the YGO DM manga.

It was mainly us going over the Kaiba centric scenes in YGO DM: Death-T arc, and she noted differences in the Finnish TL vs. Viz's official EN TL. I haven't posted that yet. I'll put it in a future post

The convo’s really long so I’ll mainly just post the Magi: JuAli tangent part of our big convo for now.

There's some YGO DM: KaiYami and YGO: GX JohaJu rambles and misc rambles from other series sprinkled in though.

I wanted to compare this Magi: JuAli omake between the fan-TL and Viz's official EN TL.

(I still haven't checked out the JP version for this scene yet. When I do, I'll make a new post)

Fan-TL

(Magi: Kou Empire Arc - Vol. 28 - Ch. 278)

Translated by @/arashidono

Official TL by Viz

Summary:

Fan-TL:

(+) More literal, which is interesting

(+) Usually more accurate in meaning

(+) I personally prefer the prose and wording, especially for important scenes

(-) Readable, but the text and pages aren't as clean obviously cuz they were scanned directly from the magazines at the time of Magi's release, so you can't see art details very well

(-) Fan-TL team had to figure out how to translate the names and terms, etc. So the names change overtime, and the fan scan team eventually adjusts to the most commonly accepted spellings

Viz (Official TL)

(+) Has higher res HD scans and much cleaner pages to see all the details of Ohtaka's art

(+) Well professional and sounds more natural, which is also interesting

(+) Typesetting is much better since it's done by professional typesetters rather than a hobbyist team of fans

(+/-) Consistency with how terms are translated, but they also choose really weird spellings tbh

(+/-) Viz's TL is ok. The translation generally gets the point across.

(+/-) Generally translates terms (ie. attack names) to English More distanced from the OG text in terms of meaning

(+/-) Character's speech styles can get lost with how Viz translates things though

(+/-) Often cuts dialogue shorter so it can fit within the speech bubbles, so Viz's TL often loses the full context for these lines

...

Me: Also first off I'm gonna start with my rambles that I genuinely prefer the fan-TL for this JuAli omake.

Alibaba's tone in his dialogue generally being much more calmer and softer and empathetic towards Judar (and thus, capturing the original intended meaning and tone much more closely to the OG JP version) is something I 100000% prefer. It feels more fitting to his chara.

Like WOOOOW the way Alibaba's "You seem rather spoiled and pampered, Judar," turns into "What a spoiled brat!" In Viz's version, does change the tone and way it comes across.

It loses the air of humbleness and maturity that his character has, late-Kou Empire arc and beyond

...

Me: What I cannot stand about Viz's prose is that they make everyone sound the same too. Their way of translating dialogue is so samey sounding. And it's not really the first time that a Viz official TL feels harsher. Like, a lot of softer nuances in charas' speech pattern just gets flat out erased in Viz's official TLs and it annoys me sm.

C: Yeah this is such a Viz thing, god. YGO DM’s Finnish TL still has this issue but at least like. Yugi and Jonouchi use different first person pronouns, etc. Subtle differences.

Me: RIGHT like I've seen tons of series officially localized by Viz and it's so typical of Viz's official TLs /neg

Me: Magi's official TL by Viz is fine, thank god. YGO DM and DGM by Viz are decent at least. My childhood series, KHR and MMBN/EXE were absolutely butchered by Viz's awful official EN TLs by them, tho, holy shit...

Also out of big manga EN localizers, my preferences for TL quality goes like this: Yen Press >>>>>> Kodansha >> Viz

Me: (Magi: Kou Empire arc - Vol. 28 - Ch. 278)

The JuAli omake

Judar's gay tsundere ass LMFAO 😭

Gay and a menace to women!

In the original, Judar just calls him haniwa ("Clay doll") but in the Viz version it's Sausage. LMAO

Like, one example that comes to mind for me is how Viz translates the JuAli scenes in the Kou Empire arc. Like their meeting on the Dark Continent with Judar and haniwa (clay doll) Alibaba.

Summary: Due to plot/story reasons, Alibaba is currently a sausage shaped haniwa (clay doll) like OoO and travelling with Judar.

Like it makes Alibaba's tone come off WAY different... Like he obviously has this air of humbleness and maturity to him, late Kou Empire arc and beyond, and it’s especially apparent in his scenes with Judar. But it loses that nuance with Viz's version.

The Viz TL is much less softer compared to the OG which is much softer in tone.

Can't say I'm a fan of how Viz translated this compared to the fan-TL tbh but it's. Ok. You get the gist of it. At least now I have Ohtaka's omake extra comics in HD though. I do appreciate Viz’s TL for that. It’s interesting to see cuz officials TLs almost always have more natural sounding liberal English, while fan-Tls are typically more literal and more accurate in meaning.

Magi: Vol. 28 - Ch. 278 - JuAli Omake

Fan-TL

Translated by @/arashidono

Alibaba: Looks like you were raised spoiled and pampered. I didn't expect that from you, Judar.

Official TL (Viz)

Alibaba: What a spoiled brat!

C: Oh yeah! Very different wording

Me: Like Alibaba's tone is clearly softer in OG

C: And a lot less sympathy in Viz's TL, too, even though Alibaba is supposed to be empathetic as a character.

C: Aaa yes this one

Lmao the tone is completely different

Me: Also Viz go fuck yourself for trying to make it sound like he's into women 😭 🖕

C: LMAOO

Me: But at least he (Judar) clears it up that he's not interested. Whews!

C: At least!

Me: Cuz I KNOW for a fact that Viz ALWAYS has a tendency for adding straight ship tease even when it doesn't exist in the OG text (source material), but tones down or erases gay subtext...

C: HKAKHLDKGKDNFKKDK YEAH THIS HAS INDEED HAPPENED.

Me: I think I just realized an example of this.

Iirc, Viz added MLW ship subtext that doesn't exist in OG with PokeSpe (Pokemon Special AKA Pokemon Adventures manga), vs. them toning down gay subtext with Kanda/Alma in DGM.

C: They really toned down actual queer coding in DGM 😭

C: And yeha I think Viz' PokeSpe TL adds some random fanservice for MLW ships

Can't remember specific examples but 🙄

Me: (Put the rest of the misc rambles at the end of this post)

...

C: Omg the sausage Alibaba story

Ahhh I see. That makes sense.

C: Viz is Viz, never expect too much /neg 😩

So valid

C: “WHAT A RUDE SAUSAGE” AJGKNAGNNANANANANS

Viz reducing the clay doll into a hot dog

Me: JUDAR IN THE VIZ TL CALLING ALIBABA "SAUSAGE" IN THE JUALI CHAPTERS I'M DECEASEDDDDD /POS /ENDEARING

Judar: Are you ok, sausage boy!?

THAT'S SO FUCKING FUNNY LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I accept Haniwa (“Clay doll”) turning into Sausage cuz it’s really funny

...

C: HELPPP

Alibaba: You're not popular with girls? Just like me!

C: YEAH VALID

Sausage boy omg

Jar of Alibabas be like 🌭 jar

C: This is hilarious

Alibaba: You abuse your power, so you get to wear damp clothes.

C: The little high five when Judar manages to fly again by thinking of Aladdin omg

Cute

C: Tbh I like it but it's also distanced from OG text as per Viz 😩

...

Me: Yeah I love the haniwa Alibaba JuAli omake. It's so funny

My JuAli crumbs come from the JuAli chapters late Kou Empire arc and the omakes

Really good crumbs though

Me: “Viz is Viz never expect too much”

HHH YEAH

Like their TLs for Magi, AkaYona, and ROTRK are fine at least though

Me: “Viz reducing the clay doll into a hotdog”

VIZ MADE JUDAR'S LINE "WHAT A RUDE SAUSAGE!" RATHER THAN "YOU RUDE HANIWA!" IN THE FAN TL LMAO

Ok I get this one. This one’s fine with me. Maybe they thought clay doll was too clunky. It sounds fine to me though but alas. Plus Viz always translates terms into English. Like they do that with the attack names in Magi

We got Judar asking Alibaba "Are you ok sausage boy?" Out of it though. I'll live with that LMAOOO it's so funny

Me: “You’re not popular with girls? Just like me!”

YEAH HHHH

Alibaba telling Judar in the fan TL, "You mean you're unlucky with love? For the first time I feel close to you!" Lmaooo

Judar's gay ass: 🧍

S: HAH

Me: Judar asking Alibaba, "Are you ok, sausage boy?" In Viz's version LMAOOO

HELPPPP

Me: Alibaba telling Judar in the fan TL, "Power is wasted on you. Half dried clothes suit you best. You're such a pampered one." LOL

Me: YEA THIS IS FUNNY

Me: “The little high five is so cute”

Yeah JuAli doing the little high five is so cute

When Judar learns how to fly again in a space where his magical power is weak while thinking of how to beat Aladdin 😭😂

Alibaba knowing how to motivate Judar lmaooo

Me: “Tbh I like it but it’s distanced from the OG text, as per usual Viz”

Yeah this is how I feel about Viz's Magi. I surprisingly like most of it. Tho tbf Magi already has banger dialogue as a story/narrative, so it explains it. You can’t really ruin goated text unless you translate it really badly.

The way some lines are translated is just grrr though. It's fun to see Magi translated in more liberal English and I like it. It's generally fine. But yeah, as you said, Cinna, it's distanced from the OG text in terms of the meaning. I like how we have access to the high quality scans of Ohtaka's art for seeing details. The typesetting and fonts are better.

But I prefer the fan TL cuz it's closer to the OG text and more accurate in meaning. And I prefer the wording and prose tbh

Also the other thing is that EN official TLs usually have to shorten the length of the lines so it can fit within the speech bubbles (which is understandable). They get the point across fine, but lose the full context of dialogue lines. But I like reading good fan-TLs cuz they usually give me the full context that the original text intended.

...

Me: Now that I think about it, my KHR OC, Selena, is also a water themed gal :)

Selena (KHR AU), Tatsumiya (WATGBS AU), Kougyoku (Magi), my water themed wifey wife trio 🫶 🌊

C: “My JuAli crumbs come from late Kou Empire arc”

That's so valid

C: “Viz’s TLs for Magi, AkaYona, and ROTRK are fine tho”

YEAH... Their DGM translation isn't too bad either but it's still well. Viz.

C: “YOU RUDE SAUSAGE!”

FRIGGING SAUSAGE

Right and they can't have too many Japanese words included I bet

C: “Sausage boy is so funny tho. I’ll live with that”

TRUE JAHFJSJA

C: “You’re unlucky with love? For the first time, I feel close to you!”

Yea that is. Such a whole different sentence.

C: “Are you ok, sausage boy?”

Why is there no sausage emoji I can put here

🌭

C: LMAO

C: “JuAli doing the little high five is so cute”

That's. Definitely amusing lmao.

C: Yeah that makes sense

Yeee very valid Viz TLs often follow a very specific tone for all series (Which can definitely cause issues!

Me: Yeahhh exactly

As Lumen said, Viz's Magi official EN TL is still interesting to see cuz it's in more natural sounding English

But the fan-TL still sounds good and is more literal and I prefer the prose more. Also it's closer in meaning

Me: YEAH SAUSAGE IS SO FUNNY

Yeah Viz also translates all the Arabic inspired attack names to English so yeah

Me: Yeah ngl I'm not a fan of how Viz tried to imply this scene was about women

Fan-TL

Judar: The stupid king told me that I'd have more success in love wearing middle eastern clothes. Ha ha... He's so stupid...

Alibaba: You mean... You're unlucky with love!! For the first time, I feel close to you!

Viz

Judar: Besides, Sinbad said women love middle eastern clothes!! Ha ha! What an idiot!

Alibaba: Oh! You're not popular with girls?! Just like me!

Me: Like of course Judar's gay ass is just gonna be like 🧍 I don't like Viz trying to imply that. But thankfully the next page is still fine and clears it up. Cuz it still shows how disinterested he is in women

Me: “That’s definitely amusing lmao (irt JuAli’s little high five)”

Yeah it's like. In a way, they definitely know how to push each others' buttons, play with each others' curiosity and motivate each other!

Me: “Viz TLs often follow a very specific tone for their series”

Oh yeah that's also very true. And yeah it can definitely cause issues

Viz's official EN TL for AkaYona is generally pretty bland and it sounds so samey/affects how characters' speech styles are translated. It's ok for Magi tho.

C: Yea like especially characters' speech styles can really get lost with how Viz translates things

Also understandable

C: “Viz translates all the Arabic inspired attack names to English”

SAD AS HELL

C: “Official TL with more liberal English while fan TL is more accurate in meaning”

Oh yeah that makes sense

Pros and cons to both

C: HJFJFDKD REALLY SO DIFFERENT

C: YEAH VALID

Me:

Summary of my personal observations

Fan-TL

(+) More literal, which is interesting

(+) More accurate in meaning

(+) I personally prefer the prose and wording, especially for important scenes

(-) Readable, but the text and pages aren't as clean obviously cuz they were scanned directly from the magazines at the time of Magi's release, so you can't see art details very well

(-) Fan-TL team had to figure out how to translate the names and terms, etc. So the names change overtime, and the fan scan team eventually adjusts to the most commonly accepted spellings

Me:

Viz (Official TL)

(+) Has higher res HD scans and much cleaner pages to see all the details of Ohtaka's art

(+) Well professional and sounds more natural, which is also interesting

(+) Typesetting is much better since it's done by professional typesetters rather than a hobbyist team of fans

(+/-) Consistency with how terms are translated, but they also choose really weird spellings tbh

(+/-) Viz's TL is ok. The translation generally gets the point across.

(+/-) Generally translates terms (ie. attack names) to English More distanced from the OG text in terms of meaning

(+/-) Character's speech styles can get lost with how Viz translates things though

(+/-) Often cuts dialogue shorter so it can fit within the speech bubbles, so Viz's TL often loses the full context for these lines

Since I wanted to see how the text was originally intended to be read, so I read the Magi fan TL first. But reading in any order is fine

C: YEAH HAVFJSJDS

C: Yuuup

A lot of charas’ unique speech styles get slaughtered in translation especially if Viz is at it

C: That sounds about right

Yeah Viz often tries to water things down and make everything same-y which is....

C: Very valid

Me: “Charas’ unique speech styles get slaughtered in translation especially if Viz is in charge”

Yeahhh exactly. I agree… Yeah I also noticed a lot of times Viz cuts the dialogue for it to fit in the bubble and make it shorter. While the fan-TL generally gives more context to these lines

Me: Yeah it's why Viz’s official TLs are either decent, or sound generally bland.

Like AkaYona’s EN official TL by Viz has such bland prose, it’s so boring sounding to me.

ROTRK’s EN official TL by Viz is so good it’s hard to believe it’s a Viz localization LMFAO

C: Oh makes sense

Yuuup

...

DGM & YGO: Rambles

(MASSIVE DGM SPOILERS)

(Original)

Alma: I love you, Yu…

(Official TL by Viz)

Alma: You are dear to me, Yu…

Like??? Viz you ain't fucking worth shit

Also I'm assuming that Daisuki (大好き, "I love you") is used in this scene in DGM

...

Me: Ok I just realized an instance of "Viz adding ship tease to MLW ships when it isn't present in OG text"

Yeahhh like one example that came to mind was between Gold and Crys in PokeSpe, I think

They have an interesting dynamic in that they bring out the worst in each other, but it's just super unappealing as a ship imo

C: RIGHT LIKE

And yes it is with Daisuki

But Iirc I've understood Hoshino has on her Instagram talked of Kanda and Alma in ways that kind of imply the queer coding is very. very intentional

But I haven't seen a source augh

Me: Yeahhh, like, unlike most shounen, it actually feels very intentional here (irt the confession scene in DGM), so it is actually queer coding.

Which is different from unintentional/accidental shounen gay subtext (which is the majority of shounens)

C: Alma is literally a woman's soul put to a man's body. SOMETHING is queer there

Me: Even the Kaiba/Yami ship in YGO DM still counts as gay subtext cuz nothing is confirmed. The food is great tho but it's still accidental/unintentional shounen homoeroticism

C: Right like Kanda and Alma are really unlike anything It's obviously intentional which is really rare in mainstream shonen

C: Iirc yes

C: Yeah. 😭

Me: The only exceptions that I can think of is newer YGO series getting more progressive. Like the one I showed. Iirc, the recent YGO series spin-off, Go-Rush, actually has a love confession between the protag and his rival

Cuz even in previous YGO series, even when love is spelled out in a gay ship, they go the cheap route of keeping it as subtext and not confirming/going with any canon ships

C: Johto Trio in PokeSpe are great besties but I feel like Gold and Crystal being involved romantically would be miserable for them both, lol

C: Yeah!

But YGO is progressing in this regard

(MASSIVE YGO GX: SEASON 3 SPOILERS)

Me: Ok I'll try to sum up YGO GX: Season 3.

Judai is YGO GX's protag and Johan is his best friend who he immediately got along well with. They developed great synergy.

In YGO GX, when Yubel, the agender Duel Monster who wants to "take back Judai," possesses Johan, and duels Judai, they say, "You're actually aching with someone you love… How come you weren't this serious when I was the one involved?"

And in the series it explicitly spells out that Yubel acknowledges that the "love that Judai gave to her past self/reincarnation is now for Johan."

But YGO GX still goes the cheap route of not confirming any ships/not going with any canon ships, not with Johan, or Asuka who is the token femme love interest.

C: OH YEAH HSHFHSHDHSSH BATSHIT INSANE STUFF

Whatever they were trying to say with THIS

Me: YEAH THIS IS CRAZY FOR AN OLD 2000'S SHOUNEN SERIES

It's still gay subtext tho since they don't go with any canon ships or confirm anything.

Me: Kaiba/Yami's food is also batshit as well, but it's mainly gay subtext, similar to JohaJu.

It's also so so so funny cuz Yubel chooses to possess Johan specifically. Not Asuka. But Johan.

YGO DM: KaiYami

(YGO DM anime)

Kaiba: I tremble with desire...

(YGO: Duel Links - Mobile Game)

Kaiba: Even if all 8 billion people were here, it wouldn't be enough. Because the one person I want wouldn't be around. Reviving him is what this world needs! And what I need!

(YGO: DSOD - Movie)

The entirety of YGO: DSOD, that canonically takes place 6 months post-YGO DM manga canon. Kaiba is mourning in his own way for Yami Yuugi (Atem), wanting to revive the Pharaoh Atem and meet him again, remaking an entire holographic replica perfectly, for him to duel against but not being satisfied cuz it doesn't have Atem's soul, having an entire space station built so that he can try and reach Atem in the afterlife, being extremely overprotective of the Millenium Puzzle since he believes Atem's soul is trapped inside so it's surrounded by glass and lasers and shit, etc.

There's SO MUCH I'm not mentioning but yeah. Here's a snippet of KaiYami. A little sneak peek into Kaiba's obsession with Yami Yuugi (Atem)