We reported this week publisher manga Shogakukan and other companies invested 2.92 billion yen ($19.5 million) in Orange Inc. for manga translation using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
- This manga depicts a journey of revenge against the Vikings
- The 1985 animated film 'Angel's Egg' gets a 4K remaster
The idea behind this investment is to boost the export of translated manga overseas using AI. The anime and manga industry has been watching the rapid maturation of AI with a mixture of intrigue and apprehension.
While the potential of AI to optimize workflows and reduce production costs is undeniable and even favored by those seeking to increase productivity, concerns persist about its impact on human creators who have dedicated their careers to this field.
In this sense, Japan's support for AI-powered manga translations has the potential to reshape the entire manga industry. Unsurprisingly, overseas manga translators and letterers received the news with a healthy dose of skepticism.
AI-powered manga translation fails to capture Japanese text
The general consensus was that AI translations would not be able to capture the nuances of Japanese text, diminishing the reading experience.
Orange Inc. cited the slow pace of human translations and the difficulty in finding qualified translators. Many argued that investing heavily in AI translations instead of hiring and fairly paying more translators was not a wise decision.
Therefore, if translators received fair compensation for the work they do, it would become a more lucrative career path for many. It would also allow many translators to leave their day jobs and focus entirely on their translation work.
Both translators and lettering artists, including Brandon Bovia, were surprised that companies were prepared to invest $19.5 million in a manga localization company, while considering rates of over $1 per page for translations.
Jan Cash, known for translating Choujin X, Burn The Witches, and the most recent one-shot of the Bleach manga, pointed out that the money raised in the crowdfunding campaign could have been used to pay a fair rate for at least 10,000 books.
Although the criticisms directed at Orange Inc. and Shogakukan regarding manga translation, along with other companies, are justified based on past experiences, the localization company claims that it is developing cutting-edge technology for manga localization, utilizing deep learning.
However, even with a highly developed AI model, we still rely on human translators for proofreading and localization.
Source: X (Official Twitter)