Translator Tea Times Two: Emily Balistrieri and Jake Jung

Show Notes

1:08: Emily and Jake introduce themselves.
4:31: Jake explains what manga adaptation is.
8:00: Both explain their interests outside of manga/light novels, which involves Emily sharing that he has a pizza toast blog.
11:44: Emily and Jake explain what led to them making translation their career choice.
17:42: Jake explains his first professional translation (Flying Witch).
19:25: Emily discusses how Alpaca Evolution became his first credited translation work, and the work assigned by Yen Press that definitely was not a one-off work.
25:42: How their approaches have changed from their first translation to their current one -- meanwhile Jake ends up revealing the other types of translations he does that’s uncredited...for 18+ reasons.
33:03: Both talk about getting feedback on their work, or lack of feedback on their work.
35:28: What has changed the most for them as translators since joining the industry? And their thoughts on simulcasts and the challenges they both present.
41:19: The craziest thing that has happened to them since becoming a translator -- for these two, it involves getting invited to big event.
46:28: Their approaches to handling criticism from fans, peers, and publishers.
56:30: Additional tips to improve your translation, advice for joining the industry (ex. translation theory, time management).

 

Born 1985 in Wisconsin, Emily Balistrieri currently lives in Tokyo. Published translations include Tomihiko Morimi's The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, Ko Hiratori's JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World, and Takuji Ichikawa's The Refugees' Daughter. He also translates two ongoing light novel series, Carlo Zen's The Saga of Tanya the Evil and Kugane Maruyama's Overlord. His translation of Eiko Kadono's Kiki's Delivery Service will be out in July 2020.

Jake Jung is a freelance Japanese-to-English translator specializing in anime, manga, and video games. Anime titles he has translated for Sentai Filmworks include Made in Abyss, Release the Spyce, Assassins Pride, and Why the Hell Are You Here, Teacher?! among others. He also handles the English manga adaptation of Made in Abyss for Seven Seas, and is the translator of a to-be-announced title for them releasing in 2020. He has been a full-time translator since 2010 and has focused on media translations specifically since 2013. He was born and raised in Michigan, USA and, as of 2019, resides in Kagawa, Japan with his wife and two children.