Katrina Leonoudakis
Katrina Leonoudakis is a "professional" JP->EN translator typically specializing in games and anime.
www.animenewsnetwork.com
While a "professional" translator, you would not know if you saw the way she treats her work.
Her tendency to add jokes and memes into the script is something that a amateur fansubber would do and not someone paid and entrusted with someone else's work.
Archive
Archive
(actual translation: What kind of play/role-play is this?)
Archive
Note: "bit this anime is total trash why do you care about it"
Bullshit
Part of having priciples is standing by them even when it is tough
Do you care about your values or will you discard them when it benefits you?
She does attempt to justify her reckless edits to the script with "translation theory" which is usually just a large wall of pseudointellectual bullshit that makes it totally ok to drop a stale meme whenever she feels like the script is getting a little too dry for her tastes.
Archive
One of her most notorious decisions is to replace "nii-nii" with "big brudder"
Archive
The fact that when brainstorming with her friends that "big chungus" was floated as an translation and not something simple like "big bro" is a pretty good indicator as to how seriously she takes her job.
She has no qualms against censorship, especially with stuff she finds objectionable
Like most localizers, she has a colossal ego and great disdain for much of the media she works on and the fans of it
"Dont like shit memes in your japanese media?
Too bad! You are not the 'audience' of this work that I had no hand in creating!"
(Archive)
What she means by this is that her "target audience" is her collection of industry friends who giggle at getting away with putting out of place in official products and their surrounding gaggle of brown nosers and sycophants
Katrina worked on the translation for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim and while there is no way to verify this change is her doing, I would not put it past her
The Koisuru incident: The localizer Waterloo
On June 5th 2022, The scanslation group, Ethylene scans posted an article on their website criticizing the Seven Seas' translation of "I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into A Girl" (koisuru (otome) no tsukurikata) primarily criticizing the changing of the crossdressing protagonist, Hiura from a male into a transexual.
ethylene.mangadex.com
Archive
The article quickly made the rounds through the internet; people began to take ire with Seven Seas' treatment of the book. Katrina decided to add to this conversation by defending the translator for the book claiming that the translation was immaculate and well researched, even going as far to claim that consulted several trans people and read ahead to ensure the accuracy was top notch while claiming that that all the critics were "TERFs and the right" just listening to "one rando"
Archive
This was, of course, a complete lie. There is an interview with the mangaka about Koisuru where they repeatedly say that Hiura is a boy in no vague context.
www.pixivision.net
Archive
There is also a piece of art done by the artist for the book where Hiura states explicitly he is a boy
(TL: Im a boy, idiot. Eh? Want proof? You should read volume 1)
www.pixiv.net
Uproar about the hijacking quickly spread to the mangaka and the Japanese publisher; soon after, Seven Seas put out a tweet saying they have heard the criticism of the translation and were "looking into addressing the delicate language in the story"
Seven Seas ultimately apologized for the massive blunder by issuing a reprint and having a japanese collaborative team audit further translations of the series to prevent more mishaps
Archive
Katrina knowingly put her seal of quality on a grossly defective product and had the gall to lie to the consumer's faces.
This marked a grievous blow to Katrina. Her reputation was tarnished more that it has ever been in front of a whole new crowd of onlookers.
Some interviews:
archive.ph
archive.ph
Katrina Leonoudakis is a "professional" JP->EN translator typically specializing in games and anime.
Katrina LEONOUDAKIS - Anime News Network:W
While a "professional" translator, you would not know if you saw the way she treats her work.
Her tendency to add jokes and memes into the script is something that a amateur fansubber would do and not someone paid and entrusted with someone else's work.
Archive
Archive
(actual translation: What kind of play/role-play is this?)
Archive
Note: "bit this anime is total trash why do you care about it"
Bullshit
Part of having priciples is standing by them even when it is tough
Do you care about your values or will you discard them when it benefits you?
She does attempt to justify her reckless edits to the script with "translation theory" which is usually just a large wall of pseudointellectual bullshit that makes it totally ok to drop a stale meme whenever she feels like the script is getting a little too dry for her tastes.
Archive
One of her most notorious decisions is to replace "nii-nii" with "big brudder"
Archive
The fact that when brainstorming with her friends that "big chungus" was floated as an translation and not something simple like "big bro" is a pretty good indicator as to how seriously she takes her job.
She has no qualms against censorship, especially with stuff she finds objectionable
Like most localizers, she has a colossal ego and great disdain for much of the media she works on and the fans of it
"Dont like shit memes in your japanese media?
Too bad! You are not the 'audience' of this work that I had no hand in creating!"
(Archive)
What she means by this is that her "target audience" is her collection of industry friends who giggle at getting away with putting out of place in official products and their surrounding gaggle of brown nosers and sycophants
Katrina worked on the translation for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim and while there is no way to verify this change is her doing, I would not put it past her
The Koisuru incident: The localizer Waterloo
On June 5th 2022, The scanslation group, Ethylene scans posted an article on their website criticizing the Seven Seas' translation of "I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into A Girl" (koisuru (otome) no tsukurikata) primarily criticizing the changing of the crossdressing protagonist, Hiura from a male into a transexual.
Review: I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl – Volume 1
It features Mido Kenshiro, a boy who loves cosmetics, and Hiura Mihate, his (male) childhood friend, and what happens after Mido tries putting makeup on Hiura for the first time.
ethylene.mangadex.com
The article quickly made the rounds through the internet; people began to take ire with Seven Seas' treatment of the book. Katrina decided to add to this conversation by defending the translator for the book claiming that the translation was immaculate and well researched, even going as far to claim that consulted several trans people and read ahead to ensure the accuracy was top notch while claiming that that all the critics were "TERFs and the right" just listening to "one rando"
Archive
This was, of course, a complete lie. There is an interview with the mangaka about Koisuru where they repeatedly say that Hiura is a boy in no vague context.
キャラを愛しているからアイデアがひらめく！『恋する(おとめ)の作り方』著者による“かわいい”の作り方
誰もが恋に落ちそうなキラキラのヒロインの正体は、実は陰キャの男子高校生!? コスメ大好き男子と、彼のために変身する男の娘のじれったい恋模様を描いたマンガ『恋する(おとめ)の作り方』（通称『おとつく』）がpixivコミックにて連載中です。コ...
There is also a piece of art done by the artist for the book where Hiura states explicitly he is a boy
(TL: Im a boy, idiot. Eh? Want proof? You should read volume 1)
男だよ
昔流行ったやつ、うろ覚えでやったらなんかもうよくわかんないことに （セリフ無し版足しました、お好きにどうぞ～） 証拠があるかどうかはわからないけどとりあえず読むんだ！！ 『恋する(おとめ)の作り方【pixivコミック】』 https://comic.pixiv.net/works/6403
Uproar about the hijacking quickly spread to the mangaka and the Japanese publisher; soon after, Seven Seas put out a tweet saying they have heard the criticism of the translation and were "looking into addressing the delicate language in the story"
Seven Seas ultimately apologized for the massive blunder by issuing a reprint and having a japanese collaborative team audit further translations of the series to prevent more mishaps
Archive
Katrina knowingly put her seal of quality on a grossly defective product and had the gall to lie to the consumer's faces.
This marked a grievous blow to Katrina. Her reputation was tarnished more that it has ever been in front of a whole new crowd of onlookers.
Some interviews:
Katrina Leonoudakis - Engineer By Day Translator By Night
archived 19 Feb 2022 18:24:16 UTC
Interview: Translating Anime With Katrina Leonoudakis - Anime Corner
archived 13 Mar 2022 05:03:58 UTC
Attachments
Last edited:
