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Hey. I was just wondering if anyone else has picked up the English version of the Full Moon wo Sagashite manga. I just got it today at Suncoast (Apparently Walden Books does not get the manga till the end of the month, so it may just be a special release by Suncoast). Overall, I was pleased with how it was handled. Though the way they phrased some things (especially their translation of 'Shinigami' to 'Harbingers of Death') I didn't really care for.

The main thing I loved about this version though was they translated the manga-ka's ramblings. The fan versions I read never did, but it's so great that she's a Kingdom Hearts fan... She also talks about Harry Potter...

Anyone else's thoughts?

They call them both Shinigami and Habringers of Death, actually. That's just what they translated it to.

Well, I'm not much of a translator (I learned French, not Japanese...). But they called the song 'Ange', which I thought was really weird. Here's the translation.

"If I try to explain my wounds and my pain,
the tears well up and I want to cry.
You say nothing and turn away
So the moon lights your path and blinds me.

Sometimes I can't even look at your face
So full of sin, yet you still stay pure.

But it's true
You healed me that day
When I was drenched in the lashing rain.
I want to hold you here
Forever.

Someday
Someday you'll understand.
Why you were born with only one wing.
You're the reason
Why this song can be sung."

I just got the book today (the last copy at my local bookstore... yay!) It was excellent. I wasn't too disturbed by the Harbingers of Death thing, since they used Shinigami later on. I was, however, a little disappointed with the translations of the song lyrics. They didn't make a lot of sense... that was my first impression. I don't know how I'll feel about them when I read it again. I loved reading Tanemura's comments... they were a lot of fun. biggrin I was really excited to learn that she's an HP fan. heart

I just got it yesterday, and I loved it. I found the translation of the dialog itself was really, really accurate. ^^; I actually don't mind the changes.. Shinigami, Harbringers of Death, it's the same thing at the end of the day... they could of butchered it more, but they didn't, and for that I'm thankful.

There were only two other different translations, both of which I'm not that worried over, which you guys didn't mention. Just thought I'd bring them up... anyway, they used Izumi Lio instead of Izumi Rio (although it could go either way, so I don't mind this one... they call him Izumi 90% of the time anyway, so it's not _that_ big of a deal, in my opinion) and they changed Gu-chan to Gut-chan. Which sounds almost exactly the same, as long as you say the 't' softly. And if you don't say it 'guht-chan' (like the word gut... as in, 'ow, you nailed me in the gut' xp sweatdrop ).

At any rate, I thought overall it was handled well. Now for volume two. whee

And yes, I think my favorite parts was the fact that Tanemura's comments were translated. They were a lot of fun to read. ^^;

So true. I'm definintely counting my blessings on that one.

I've even made my little cousin start reading it. I'm slowly getting her into anime and FMwS is a great one to start with. It's also one of the few really girl-ish type mangas I own... Anything to keep her from watching Buffy 24/7 like she has been for the past three weeks. Nothing against the show, but there's only so much of it a normal person can take...

I believe the reason they did this is because Gu-chan's name is written as GU (small tsu) CHAN in Japanese. (Ack, I tried to write it with Japanese characters and Gaia didn't like it.... D: ) This can be romanized as "Gucchan" or "Gutchan." Personally, I don't think they chose the right version, as it will cause pronunciation mistakes with new fans. Also, it makes it harder to understand the origin of the name (the GU in PIGGU.)

Gut-chan or Gu-chan. It's better than nothing. wink Who knows. Maybe this will lead the way for the anime getting licenced. When I asked for it at Walden Books, I was told I was the tenth person to ask for FMwS. The more it seems there is a market for the show, the better our chances get.

Gut-chan? thats...erm..interesting. lol. xd