I feel like there's a "rot" in the voiceover industry right now. It's something that's probably always been there, but I think it's been progressively getting worse. There's this strange attitude that can basically be summed up as, "F*ck y'all. I got mine." And I'd like to talk about it. 🧵

A few episodes from the end of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and I'm really enjoying it. I can tell that Park Eun-Bin must have spent a lot of time on her portrayal of Young-Woo because that is a tough role to have, especially as the lead, and it's just really engaging to watch.

I painted a small picture of autumn. #Amphibia #amphibiafanart

Maybe this will finally be the year I make myself watch Pan's Labyrinth...

Tokyo has a new independent English language bookstore! They've got a good selection of queer books and books on Palestine. Please give them all your money. featherheartbooks.com

Figuring out my 🕷️ attire for our Halloween event, and so far, it's a kitbash of my character's usual costume plus my variant outfits from two different events. 😅 The overalls having slots to stick sleeves through really helps!

Related: I wear my prescription glasses on stage, so my colored contacts have no adjustment. I'm going to have to reverse that for next year because it's getting increasingly more annoying to have my face close to the mirror to apply eye makeup because I question my vision otherwise.

Kevin (ケビン)@ktnguyen.bsky.social · 7d ago

Achievement? Took my colored contacts out while sitting in the train without looking in a mirror and without poking my eyes out.

Achievement? Took my colored contacts out while sitting in the train without looking in a mirror and without poking my eyes out.

Window shopping laughs: A sticker of a poisonous frog captioned "I'm toxic." 🐸

Google finally updated some of its satellite images of Gaza and my god, it's horrific. The entirety of Rafah has been demolished. The majority of Khan Younis is in ruins. Entire towns completely leveled and erased of the map.

Game devs, this is why it's important to give your translation teams references and allow for time in the schedule for questions from the translators. Help localization help you! igda.org/news-archive...

Kevin (ケビン)@ktnguyen.bsky.social · last wk.

Mild example, but my very first LQA job had text along the lines of "Mark is trimming his beard." Except Mark doesn't have a beard. He has a moustache. But the Japanese word ひげ doesn't differentiate, so I can only assume the translator had no idea what Mark looked like when they were translating.

I'd also like to add: if you can, please let them play the game while translating! But also if you do, please pay them for their time playing it, especially if you then demand they all play it for at least 8 hours before you'll answer their nuanced and valid queries about the text. 😫

Mild example, but my very first LQA job had text along the lines of "Mark is trimming his beard." Except Mark doesn't have a beard. He has a moustache. But the Japanese word ひげ doesn't differentiate, so I can only assume the translator had no idea what Mark looked like when they were translating.

Cassiel SparklePony ✨ Covid is Airborne 😷@sparkleponycass.bsky.social · last wk.

(My biggest gripe when translating games is not being given context. It's even worse when you ask for context and they get snarky and assume you can read their minds. Please, devs, if you want a good translation, we need to know what's going on! Just the text alone often isn't enough!)

Playing through a game. Me: "This translation feels like it could have used more polish..." *finds translator in credits, looks them up, sees long list of accreditations* Me: "It's valid to think even people with more experience can do better." Also me: "Dare I critique a senpai's work?'

I feel like "actually Japanese game companies just have laws that make it harder to lay people off" usually gets deployed as like a harsh truth, but, like...yeah! They aren't morally better, it's just regulation and worker's rights! You should find that encouraging!

Hearing for myself what happens when you cheap out on earphones. Not that I need something of particularly high quality, but I can hear a clear difference between these and the ones I'd been using before they finally kicked the bucket. 😅

Last night, I was invited to play in the Flesh and Blood TCG prerelease for Usurp the Shadow Throne. 0-3, but I had fun. Got lots of advice from the experienced players, and I was told I had built my deck well even if results didn't reflect that. 😅

But that’s why it’s so important now to chase that magic because if we don’t, we’re just gonna get caught in this never-ending cycle of despair It doesn’t mean glaze Japan, for those of us living here. Absolutely not. But it DOES mean making room for the magic to happen.

But you need to make room for joy! To give wonder a place to land, to find you. Please don’t stop being available to wonder. I know, I know– the train you once thought you was “soooo cool” is just the train now. The temple is just something you walk past on your way to work.

Awhile back my team translated a game demo, and if it did well the full game would be made. And we've recently heard that it's going ahead. The dev had tons of praise for our translation because the players loved it. Most important feedback? Players loved that it clearly *wasn't* AI translation.

But seriously, I think a lot of it does stem from repeated exposure. The more used to hearing Japanese you get, the easier it gets to process even when people are speaking faster. Having enough language so you're not tripped up by unfamiliar vocab/grammar also lowers the barrier a bit.

Lia Liar 🌸 Artist & JP teacher@lialiar.bsky.social · 2w ago

Students: How to understand fast japanese??? 😭😭😭 Me, who's been listening vtuber streams and audiobooks at 1.5x speed for a hot minute: have adhd or git gud idk 💀😂

Call for submissions: any manga panels or text from Japanese novels where a character is using an swear word original from English (in katakana is fine).

From "The Backlasher" (Volume 1) By Sakumo Okada 『ザ・バックラッシャー』① 岡田索雲

Branching off of this, I think I would like to tell 20 yr old me that a lot of things can come together just by being a pleasant person with a good work ethic. Just by being someone friends will recommend because they believe you're a good fit. Because they believe in you.

Kevin (ケビン)@ktnguyen.bsky.social · 3w ago

Impressed that I've been in Japan for over 10 years. Dumbfounded that I managed to get involved with stateside Kamen Rider releases. Proud of all that I've overcome thus far (even if the present situation sucks on multiple fronts).

I've got a ton of work stuff on my plate at the moment, thankfully, and I've been doing my best to invoice for what I can when timing allows, but in the meantime, everyone's support means the world to me. ;___; I also have Ko-fi, for anyone who prefers to use that: ko-fi.com/kittytama

Support Kitty-tama

Support Kitty-tama

ko-fi.com

Things are piling up in ways that feel beyond overwhelming, and to be honest, I'm stressing the hell out. Anything and everything helps beyond words. ;__; ahh... I'm deeply sorry for struggling so much. paypal.me/kittytama kittytamasings (Cash app + Venmo) #helpsky #mutualaid

Kitty-tama@kittytama.bsky.social · 4w ago

I've got multiple projects on my plate, and although I did get paid for one thing today, we're still pretty knee deep in the struggle pits overall. Anything and everything comes in clutch for us--your support means the world. paypal.me/kittytama $kittytamasings #mutualaid #helpsky

Impressed that I've been in Japan for over 10 years. Dumbfounded that I managed to get involved with stateside Kamen Rider releases. Proud of all that I've overcome thus far (even if the present situation sucks on multiple fronts).

Beaux 🕋@obsidian.blacksky.app · 3w ago

Would 20 y/o you be impressed or disappointed by you today?

I have a duty to the children to raise my library voice and say, "Free Palestine." It is not too dangerous to say. It is human decency. Palestinian people are worthy of tomorrow. We are human.

Be nice to yourself.

Still slowly watching through "Tomorrow." A few episodes I took issue with, but overall, I appreciate the push to turn the stigma surrounding suicide on its head. Kim Hee Seon's character also reminds me of Ryoko Yonekura's Michiko Daimon (Doctor-X series) which makes episodes a little more fun.

Kevin (ケビン)@ktnguyen.bsky.social · 3w ago

Coincidentally, I started watching a Korean drama on Netflix yesterday titled "Tomorrow" which is about a team that strives to save people who feel suicidal. Definitely a story to be sensitive about, but the timing is surprisingly apt.