Since the vast majority of otaku are not proficient in Japanese, the emergence of subtitle groups has played a decisive role in the spread of Japanese anime in China. In the past, the subtitle group was marked with the words "Please delete it within 24 hours" for resource sharing, but with the awakening of copyright awareness, there are now many animation websites that provide broadcast services in the form of official copyright purchases, and of course, the subtitle group with the official background also shines. Recently, some Japanese media interviewed G, a person involved in the production of Chinese subtitles for the animation genuine distribution website, to understand the inside story of the industry from his mouth.

◆ The process of Chinese subtitle processing

According to G, in recent years, the Chinese subtitle processing services used in China's animation distribution business can be roughly divided into the following three types:

The first is that "the Japanese side directly handed over the entire animation and line book and other materials to the local animation website";

The second is "the person in charge of subtitles is designated by the licensor, and the unified management and processing are carried out, and then sent to the local animation website";

The third is "subtitling and management through guò intermediaries, and then sending them to local animation websites".

There are pros and cons to each of these three methods, both in terms of cost, risk, and subtitle quality, and the quality of subtitles will be directly related to the popularity of the work in China, and there have been accidents where the animation of the popular work has been exposed on Chinese websites before it was broadcast in Japan, so it is not possible to decide the policy based on the cost alone. This will be risky.

The general process of making zuò is:

1. Get the script book and other materials. Translate. In the case of outsourcing, the translated manuscript needs to be checked.

2. Get the animation. Encode the original number jù, and make zuò the number jù used for the job.

3. Add subtitles to the animation, encode again, and make zuò as the number of credits.

If some of the flow is smooth, then the production time of an episode is about 6 hours (inclusive), but this qiē is the most ideal situation. However, if there is a lot of dialogue (the amount of subtitles) and the translation is more difficult, the production time will also be extended, and there may be delays in the transmission of lines and other materials, delays in the production of the main animation, and even problems with the communication situation of the line, so they often encounter this situation where they cannot complete the work within the specified time. But even so, because there are materials such as line books, and the production of zuò is carried out before the broadcast of the work, it is more stable than the previous practice of listening and translating subtitles, and can provide the audience with Chinese subtitles with higher quality.

◆ Troubles faced by Chinese subtitle processing operations

Including problems such as not being able to work according to the schedule, people will face various troubles when making subtitles for the Chinese version. Here are some of the more impactful issues.

First of all, depending on the work, the difficulty of appearing is also different. Works that are generally easier to make into Chinese subtitles are often based on real daily life, such as works such as "Light Sound Girl". On the contrary, the more difficult works are SF, fantasy and other genres. These works have a lot of special terms, and many of the sentences are created by the works.

How do you deal with such problems? Generally speaking, if the official gives the Chinese version of the term, then you can directly refer to it. If you can't find official information, you will use terms that are more acceptable to local fans and have fewer questions...... It takes a lot of time.

In addition, it is surprising that sports works are also very difficult to make. The reason for this is that most of the terms related to competition in the works have clear Chinese translations, so that a large number of "professional terms that cannot be translated incorrectly" have become an unavoidable problem in the production of zuò. In the production schedule, if you need to investigate the corresponding translation in this area, it will take a lot of effort.

In addition, Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan have differences in the feeling of using words, the way they use words, and even the killing lines, which also leads to some difficulties. Recently, many works have been dubbed in Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan at the same time, and although they all use Chinese subtitles, there are not only problems between Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and even Taiwan, but also the subtle differences in language feelings. Although it can be said that the basic meaning is still the same, as an entertaining work, it is absolutely impossible to ignore the sense of disobedience that leads to zhì because of the nuances. There are not a few such cases.

This question often arises in the context of nouns as well as the title of the work. Especially about the title of the work, it's particularly important.,Now that anime distribution is constantly launching new works.,So if you can't capture the hearts of fans when it's broadcast for the first time.,Then it's going to face a more serious situation.。 Therefore, if the name of a work makes the audience feel that "there is no enthusiasm for chasing after watching it", then it will also lead to a strong negative effect.

As for this subtle linguistic difference, if some terms have long been widely spread in Chinese mainland, then there is no special problem on the mainland, but the impression of the work between Taiwan and Hong Kong and the mainland is also different, so it needs to be revised. In addition, if there are already other translations and expressions of certain words in Chinese mainland, then proper judgment and adjustment must be made, and at the same time, we must face the complex problem of "why Hong Kong and Taiwan are different from the mainland". It's nerve-wracking to try to explain these issues.

◆ Official Chinese subtitle distribution has become a way to disseminate new works

In this interview with Chinese subtitles, the reporter himself became interested in G. The inspiration for this came from his opinion on subtitling: "Ideally, the subtitles should not be too obtrusive, so that the audience will not be aware of the subtitles when they watch the work", "We want to make the subtitles as much as possible to reflect the intention of the subtitles, and let the audience have the same viewing experience as Japanese audiences." ”

In fact, this attitude of "not letting subtitles steal the spotlight too much" is actually a relatively rare type in terms of the current situation in China. This is especially true for otaku works. Chinese subtitles sometimes show the depth of the translator's home-like culture, and the translation often incorporates the translator's explanations and preferences. In order to further engage the audience, they often use internet buzzwords and add some unique Chinese NETA to their lines.

Of course, there are not many examples of high-level translation with the enthusiasm of "liking works" and using one's rich knowledge to translate at a high level, but in terms of results, this practice will lead to the translation of a work that triggers different understandings of the plot between Chinese and Japanese audiences. This issue also deserves attention.

In this context, on the one hand, the current Chinese genuine animation distribution service can provide reliable resources, and on the other hand, if they can "not make the subtitles look too eye-catching" like G, then the subtitle version of the work such as Tongguò will also bring interesting changes to the status quo.

By the way, G himself is also an otaku, so when he asked, "Do you want to make a work with zuò, or do you want your subtitles to be widely disseminated?" His answer was, "I want to make subtitles for the theatrical version of "Madoka Magical Girl". And the most recent works are "Marching to the Mountain" and "Ordinary Female High School Students Want to Be Local Idols" that I just became obsessed with. I want my subtitles to spread through them! ”