Nov
10
Breathes.
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Uhmm.. just upgraded to WP 2.3. So far all is good and all is well. The tags are working properly and eventually the archive system. Ah~ I’m a little relieved. Hope the feeds are still fine. :3
Sep
4
It’s been a year…
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… and I missed my celebration! ??????(?????????) ?????????????!! I honestly wasn’t able to keep track of when I actually actively started this blog and it turned out that my site went in motion on August 23 and I forgot to celebrate. lol. I’ve been busy during the past few days as well due to the bookfair so the date just slipped away. Gomen ne. ^^;;
A lot has happened back when I started. Back then, I was on student allowance and now I’m fortunate to at least have something to sustain the hobby. lol. More so, there’s been a lot of developments in terms of manga in the Philippines.
In the past year since I started, there’s been a surge of English translated manga in the Philippines. Booksellers have become sophisticated in their choice of mangas and have started to bring in a lot of more popular titles as well as some to cater for those who have eclectic tastes (but trust me, just like in the US, finding them can be a total pain. -_-;;) . Another interesting thing to note is the resurgence of Japanese mangas in the Philippines through Manga Kissa 10 and the JFMO library. Although you won’t be able to buy the manga, at least you would have access to the weekly magazines and the likes.
But perhaps the most interesting development this year was the discovery of my friend while going through their local Japanese grocery. In this said grocery, they started selling tagalog translated volumes of Doraemon. The book is not as well printed as its American counterparts. If I have something to compare it with, it’s closer to the Malaysian manga releases. Not so sure if it’s the same for Indonesian prints. The paper’s closer to newsprint and the print was closer to that of the weekly magazines than it is that of a tankoubons. For the cheap price of P60 ($1.20) , it’s the best kind of print they can do.
In terms of translation, the manga turned out quite well. The conversations were casual and some things were appropriately contextualized. Mochi was turned to Bibingka1 and the translators were not afraid to use colloquial terms over those that would deem to be more proper in literature. Sound effects and variations thereof were also translated which made it all the more fun. In short, the translators made an effort to keep the spirit of Doraemon by sticking towards a translation that is closer to home. I hope that this characteristic and its cheap cheap price could spiral a new industry in the Philippines.
I just realized this morning that this was not the first tagalog translated manga in the Philippines. (Sorry about that Ed. ^^;;) Barefoot Gen was also published in the Philippines for a short while before the 80s. In fact there was a big effort after the war to distribute Barefoot Gen to the Filipinos to show the impact of the war to the Japanese, but I’m not so sure what happened afterwards. The choice to translate Barefoot Gen was more of a political effort than a commercial effort. What makes this Doraemon release special is the fact that it’s being released commercially. As I told Ed this morning, there are around 4 volumes available and this could be the start of something new for mangas in the Philippines. Many countries in South East Asia makes a big effort in translating Japanese manga to the local dialect. Indonesians has a bustling translated manga industry. The same goes for Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. These countries have been ahead in the game, and it should be time for Philippines to follow suit. Hopefully… HOPEFULLY, this publisher could get more licenses with more titles and start publishing them here.
- a local rice cake, not the same texture but both are ‘essentially’ rice cakes [↩]
Jan
24
Takk-san blogs!
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One of my favorite figure makers, pinkyst, and otaku now has a blog about his otaku life! Waaai~~! What is great about it is it’s in English! WAAAIIIII!!!! lol. Not that it worries me to read something in Japanese, but it’s easier to read it in english. :3
His site is called Otaku Journal from Japan :3. I can feel it’s a great blog because well, Takk-san is a great otaku, ne? And he’s really nice! ^___^
He starts off his blog by looking at some spring animes! One of which is the lovely manga called Bokurano~~! Have you guys read it? YOU SHOULD!! BECAUSE IT’S DAMN GREAT!! I’ll probably write about Bokurano after my thesis… ;A; Waaah… senior just came in too fast. ;A; Waaah.
Dec
2
Nodame World!
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I was writing something about Nodame World earlier and then when I sent it, my page just blanked out. I was hoping cache would get what I wrote, but they didn’t so here I am writing it again.
I made an english fansite for Nodame Cantabile. It is just the funniest josei manga I’ve read ever! It is devoid of work-related problems and sexual tension. Just appreciation and love for life and classical music.
My journey to Nodame was quite interesting. I was looking at Urasawa’s nomination for Pluto in the 2005 Osamu Tezuka awards. Then I saw Nodame shortlisted. I was like “Dude, what’s with that chicken scratch look!?” Anyway, I checked the manga out and I finally fell in love. It is now an uber favorite of mine, prolly the only manga that I really read faithfully nowadays.
Anyway, that’s my shameless plug. What is an otaku without her own fansite, right?
Aug
23
Spoiled by Burger, Fries, and Pluto
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Oh don’t worry. Bloggy as it sounds, it’s still related to manga! I think. Well, a couple of my friends invited me to go to this Japanese Burger place tonight. They came in really late. Thank god the store had manga magazines! So what did I do… I read ‘em like any rabid manga snob would do. (????????????) ????????
The Japanese burger place, Sango, is found near COOP, near Makati Cinema Square. From MCS Mcdonalds, turn to the white building and just follow the road along those buildings. You will see the giant Sango sign, and you’ll be fine (I got rhyme!)! Not that it concerns the web, but a Filipino might chance upon this entry and check it out! Just helping a fellow foodie! BUT THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME! IT’S ABOUT THE MAGAZINES!! If you actually want to catch the latest issues of lovely magazines such as Big Comic Original, Big Comic Spirits, Young Jump, Morning, Business Jump (I didn’t even read this!! It scares me) and a volume of Zipang, then head on to Sango! While you’re at it, order some burger and fries. It’s yumtastic!
Yes. Since there were magazines, and since I was on the waiting game, I actually had the luxury to read! And naturally I read Pluto under Big Comic Original, Addicted to Curry and Gantz under Young Jump. There was another thing I read, but I can’t seem to put myself to remember what it is. It was probably due to my focus on reading Pluto. I was spoiled silly. The last chapter I read was 26. The magazines has Chapters 30 and 31.
And what have I learned?
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Otaku Champloo is...
a small serving of bittersweet manga bits by a manga addict named Khursten.
She currently digs mangas about boys who live to be men. -
Feeds are Good!
