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op-tap.bsky.social

@op-tap.bsky.social

The One Piece Translation Analysis Project aims to provide an unofficial, accurate, and annotated translation of One Piece, along with resources and directories for fans. 🪪 Dee - 37 - He/She/They 🏴‍☠️ jp-eng-fr professional manga translator

19 Posts8 Follower 1 Folgt

op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · yesterday

On language level issues, choices, and impacts in translation. Read more: www.tumblr.com/op-tap/82403... #onepiece #translation #op-tap #manga

Language level is very low in general in shōnen manga, and I want to keep it that way as much as possible.

Two reasons for that:

1/ If it's not low enough, we won't see the difference with characters who talk a little better, and this could result in misscaracterization.

2/ If it's too high, it won't sound natural enough and people will notice.

If you watch dubbed anime, you will sometimes have a weird feeling about a formulation, an articulation or so. Dubbing jobs, from translation/adaptation to voice over, are extremely difficult and have their own issues, needing to take into account animation pacing, length of sentences, mouth movements, intonation, etc. There are quality issues, of course, but it's sometimes hard to judge.
In manga, however, it is sometimes not easy to transcribe language level because said level is ingrained in grammar and turns of phrases. In these cases, I either choose just to make the sentence sound as natural as possible, or I decide to insist by using vulgar words instead.

op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · 6d ago

About names transcription, here with ルフィ/Rufi/Luffy. Will talk about this again regarding translator's access to information outside of the raw manga material, because we have virtually none 🙃 #onepiece #translation #op-tap #manga www.tumblr.com/op-tap/82357...

Post by @op-tap · 2 images

💬 0 🔁 0 ❤️ 0 · Names transcription · The official transcription is of course "Luffy", but I thought it would be interesting to indicate the raw transcription (Rufi) for the sake of transparency,…

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op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · last wk.

We don't always follow the original text order when translating because it can sound unnatural. However, words also have a different weight depending on where they are placed in a manga, so I tried to keep close to the OG. www.tumblr.com/op-tap/82339... #onepiece #translation #op-tap #manga

Post by @op-tap · 2 images

💬 0 🔁 0 ❤️ 0 · Text order in bubbles · I want to try, as much as possible, to keep the same syntagma in the same bubbles as the original version. We don't always do that, because it's hard and u…

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op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · last wk.

On Roger's speech and the way it sounds like a gift disguised as another gift. Read more: www.tumblr.com/op-tap/82330... #onepiece #translation #op-tap #manga

On the left, image of Gold Roger smiling.
Onomatopoeia in bubble: "Niya…"
On the right, screeshot of a translation.
"Frame 2
01
おれの財宝か？欲しけりゃくれてやるぜ…
Ore no zaihō ka? Hoshikerya kureteyaruze…
My treasure? If you want it, I can give it to you…

02
ニヤ…
Niya…
Niak…

03
探してみろ
この世の全てをそこに置いてきた
Sagashitemiro
Kono yo no subete wo soko ni oitekita
Try and search for it.
Everything in this world, if left it back there."
Last screenshot: partial analysis of the translation.
"I tried to translate how, even this early on (this is the first page), Roger is in total control (of his own execution).

I tried to take into consideration:

the way he talks, very disrespectful language, eats his words, gives orders
a "ze" at the end of his sentence. It's some kind of "heh", a laid back insistence in this case
his smile, because in manga, everything you translate is influenced by the visuals and has to match them
Translation choices
I didn't find any informal way to translate the final "ze". Maybe an "eh", but it sounds too light. So I added a "can" to encompass the idea that Roger is very much in control, and it shows the nonchalance of the "ze", I think."

op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · 2w ago

When you start your translation and you spend hours on the first page because its words bear the meaning of the whole series More on www.tumblr.com/op-tap/82285... #onepiece #translation #op-tap #manga

The meaning of "Everything in this world…"
Wealth, fame, power…
One man once had gotten hold of everything in this world…
Tomi・meisei・chikara
Katsute konoyo no subete o te ni ireta otoko

Analysis
Being up to date with One Piece and translating this first sentence has been very emotional, but also very difficult.

I had heard it countless times, and since we have learnt more about the OP universe, especially about Laugh Tale, I have been wondering what Roger meant by that.

I am trying not to read fan theories, because I want to keep being surprised, but also because it could impair my judgement as a translator.

However, what I am sure of is:

The narrator is trying to pass off "Wealth, fame and power" as "Everything in this world", because that's what most people think it is, but it is not and can't be the case
"Everything in this world" is a code for what's in Laugh Tale, that Roger left there intentionally
"Konoyo" can have a spiritual meaning, and is used in Buddhism to talk about "this world" in the sense of an impermanent, fleeting world people are supposed to leave through awakening. I don't think it has such a meaning in OP, but I think it gives a specific weight to this formulation

op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · 3w ago

All Japanese transcription systems are very old and would need some adjustments. You'll see in the post that it also lacks compatibility with manga typography. However, modified Hepburn is still the most relevant nowadays, imo. www.tumblr.com/op-tap/82230... #onepiece #translation #op-tap #manga

Transcription system
I use the modified Hepburn romanization system, which makes pronunciation easier to understand for English- and French-speaking readers. It is currently the most widely used and accessible system, and it was officially adopted by the Japanese government in 2025.

In fact, the Japanese romanization system was different until then, so certain spellings used in the original version of One Piece will also be transcribed according to the Hepburn system, in order to preserve the original pronunciations as closely as possible.

As a reminder, macrons (small bars above certain vowels) indicate a long vowel: ā, ī, ū, ē, ō and Ā, Ī, Ū, Ē, Ō.

Examples :

Jinbē (roughly pronounce Djinbe-e, both [ɛ] as in bed if I am not mistaken, but English phonetics specialists would know better)
Shabondi, not Sabaody (I will need to decide on the i/y, the latter of which could be used to retain part of the transcription currently used in the manga, since it doesn’t cause any confusion regarding pronunciation.) The Japanese transcription comes from the Portuguese word “sabão,” which became “shabon” in Japanese, meaning “soap,” and is entirely relevant. However, I prefer to align more closely with the Japanese pronunciation in common use so that non-Japanese speakers can understand and reproduce it.)

op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · 3w ago

I just finished transcribing the whole chapter 1 🎉 Now back to page 14 for the translation ♥ #onepiece #translation #op-tap #manga

op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · 4w ago

This is the main reason I started this project 👀 #onepiece #translation #op-tap #manga

Translators are no longer invisible
Historically, our goal as translators has always been to remain invisible. We had to disappear so that readers would believe they were reading an original version, so that they could immerse themselves in a story just as much as those reading it in the original language.

It’s no longer possible: with today’s new tools for accessing information, the whole world knows we exist. Our readers know what we do, they know in which language the works they read are written, and the moment they federate into a fanbase, they also know how to dig deeper than we can on our own—often alone and underpaid—thanks to their numbers and the time they devote to their favorite work.

It is the awareness of this shift that also drives me to launch OP TAP: a portion of the readers knows the original version, is interested in it, and this “observation haki” challenges the very meaning of what constitutes a translation.

At a time when AI is trying to replace us—even though it is incapable of matching the fluidity and nuance of our work—fans, for their part, are far more powerful and effective. In my opinion, this new audience must be taken into account and given access to a parallel form of translation that is more informative and analytical. It is what they are demanding, even more: what they are beginning to expect from us.

This project is therefore also an experiment in light of the realities of my profession and is based on the following idea: people no longer want us invisible, they want us transparent.

op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Posting a few elements from the project introduction. Will soon be able to share more about the actual translation :D #onepiece #translation #op-tap #manga

Who am I?
You can call me Dee for now. I’ve been translating manga since 2015, and I’ve always been passionate about manga and Japanese culture.

I specialize in boy’s love, but my first love is shōnen manga. This project allows me to reconnect with that passion while stepping outside my comfort zone. Long series are rare in my field, so this is a real challenge I’m taking on… out of love ♥.

I hope this exercise will allow me to grow even more as a translator.

However, I should warn you that since shōnen manga isn’t my specialty, my translations might be a bit off. Since I don’t live in Japan, I also have limited access to certain cultural elements or communities.

Therefore, please feel free to let me know if you have any information that might be useful to me, help me correct something, or even just allow me to add a comment on a nuance or a reflection.

op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Not sure I'll be able to translate a lot in the next days/weeks, but I'll do some transcription instead to occupy my mind. Maybe I should transcribe one whole chapter and translate only afterwards anyway 🤔 #onepiece #translation #op-tap #manga

op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I always feel bad for the translators who discover ten volumes later their translation isn't accurate and they had no way to know. It happened to me too 😭 #onepiece #translation #op-tap #manga

The freedom to take a step back in this One Piece translation
The biggest challenge in translating a manga series whose publication spans several years is the impossibility to go back. You can’t simply revise previous volumes as soon as a new chapter is released. This is a real issue in the case of One Piece: certain choices that were absolutely appropriate at one time are no longer relevant at all, either because translation techniques have evolved, because the audience now operates in a different context (notably access to the Internet and to original or alternative versions), or because the story itself gives the text a different meaning that was impossible to foresee (or, in the case of such a long saga, that the author himself hadn’t yet envisioned!)

OP TAP, on the other hand, is designed in a way that allows the translation to evolve over time. However, I will ensure that outdated translations are clearly marked and explained, so that readers can understand and analyze them for themselves.

Since OP TAP is an ongoing project, its final version will not exist until the manga and the complete translation are finished.

op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I'm having a lot of fun with this translation because they are all very vulgar. Shank's crew is terrible, and Luffy himself, a kid, does the same with a little more innocent tone. It's really cute 🤭 #onepiece #translation #op-tap

op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I spent so many hours solely on Roger's speech and I KNOW I will not be satisfied with it until the end of the manga. There are so many notes on this part, sorry about that 😅 #onepiece #translation #op-tap

op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I had decided to wait before I created social accounts, but I really need to vent 😅 I just spent 30min looking for a way to add above points in GDocs. It's not possible. I found another way, thank you midpoint for existing. Yes it's important, it's like our italics! #onepiece #translation #op-tap

The Japanese word "kanazuchi" written in hiragana with above dots on each letter

The Japanese word "kanazuchi" written in katakana with median dots after each letter

op-tap.bsky.social @op-tap.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Consult www.tumblr.com/op-tap for links to the actual project, including: - English and French translations - Character names and nicknames directory - Language quirks and registers directory - Vocabulary and onomatopoeia glossary - Techniques Index #onepiece #translation #op-tap

The One Piece Translation Analysis Project (@op-tap) on Tumblr

The One Piece Translation Analysis Project aims to provide an unofficial, accurate, and annotated translation of One Piece, along with resources and directories for fans.

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