TNT: Bu ni Mi Volume 01 by Akashi Kakkaku

This week for Translation Necessary Thursday I’m back with another web novel series I read a few years back. It’s Bu ni Mi Volume 01 by Akashi Kakkaku!

Plot: This is a mix between the typical reincarnation genre from Japan and the more martial arts oriented Wuxia genre from China. It’s actually quite a good plot, guy dies of old age with two regrets, he didn’t master his martial arts and he didn’t get to see his adopted daughter and disciple, an elf girl, grow up to be happy. Then he gets reborn as an elf, and learns he’s now posthumously famous because his “daughter” is a bad ass who took his teachings and became a world wide hero.

Characters: Slava is our main character and is pretty decent, although he is a battle maniac so take that into consideration. The rest of the cast is okay, but it mainly revolves around Slava, Sheryl and Alma in this first volume.

Overall: This is a fun series that mixes two of my favorite genres in fiction and does a pretty decent job of it.

For those who like: Tensei, Wuxia, Martial Arts, Action, Decent Cast of Characters.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

TNT: Qidian

This week for Translation Necessary Thursday I’m going to posting some links mainly. The Translation community is reeling from the betrayal of Qidian towards Wuxiaworld. It’s all about Qidian!

What is this about?: So on May 22nd, Qidian posted a defamatory thread in the Novel Updates forum. It was targeted specifically towards Wuxiaworld, arguably the largest fan translation site for Far Eastern novels in the world.  They demanded 31 licenses back from WW even though they had come to an agreement. The statements in that thread were blatantly false, and were poaching the translators and editors of those series. It was insulting.

What’s happened since?: Quite a bit has fallen out from RWX’s reply for Wuxiaworld to someone leaking what is arguably a slave contract, if you work with Qidian. There have been posts on both sides of the argument, but frankly anyone with half a brain can tell that this is all Qidian trying to consolidate what is already in a monopoly in China.  They have 97% of the market in China, and the parent company of Qidian is Tencent, a huge organization that owns stakes in both Riot Games (League of Legends) and Epic Games (Gears of War). That is just a small part of what they own. Not only have they gone back on their word to RWX, but they’ve gone back on their word to the community. I personally wrote about QI being a huge step forward for the community. I guess I was short sighted, like so many others.

Not only that, but everything that’s come out explains the lack of reply I got to an email I sent to their suggestions personnel requesting them to make the site better for readers. I had gotten a couple replies, telling me to log in, which is locked behind an invite code that you might not be able to get, but when I described what the issue was in great detail with a step-by step replication guide, I never got another email from them. Clearly they are being stingy and truly don’t hold the communities’ best interests at heart.

If you want to read each post and the Reddit reactions to them I advise you to check out these links.

Qidian’s initial NU post | Reddit Thread about it

Wuxiaworld’s Formal Response | Reddit Thread about it

Discussion thread on what the /r/noveltranslations community response will be

New Qidian Statement | Reddit Thread about it

Qidian Contract Leak | Reddit Thread about it

Qidian Owns Electronic Copyrights

Noodletown’s View on the Issue (truly a hilarious read, god the guy is either really stupid or deliberately trying to look like a dumbass to pass info on. Personally I’m leaning towards the former, but who really knows)

Noodletown’s Reply to Being Called Out on Lying in Previous Thread

Chinese Reactions to this Issue

That’s it for this week’s Translation Necessary Thursday. I’m plenty pissed off, and I’ll be boycotting Qidian International, something I couldn’t even read in the first place due to their crappy website. I advise other’s to do the same, especially since they want to put everything behind a paywall.

Anime Sunday: Losers of Summer 2016

This week for Anime Sunday I’m back with a look at the losers of the past Anime season! It’s my Losers of Summer 2016!

Hitori no Shita: I wasn’t expecting a lot, but it still was pretty sad for how poorly it was animated. Also it having characters names change after episode 01 wasn’t helpful. The artwork and plot were both terrible and was a horrible introduction to Wuxia for the newest generation of Anime fans.

Taboo Tattoo: The plot pretty much fell apart after the first episode, although it was occasionally fun to watch Taboo Tattoo definitely had a lot of promise that wasn’t lived up to in the end.

ReLIFE: I don’t know what I was expecting, but ReLIFE ended up being a pretty mediocre series. That being said props to them for streaming every episode at the start of the season. The comedy was excruciating and I just didn’t enjoy the series as much as I thought I would.

That’s it for this week’s Anime Sunday! Next week I’ll be back with a new series, probably.

TNT: Chinese Mythological Creatures Part 2

This week for Translation Necessary Thursday I’ve got a second entry in my Chinese Mythological Creature series. It’s Chinese Mythological Creatures Part 2!

The Three Legged Golden Crow: The Golden Crow is the Sun Spirit of Chinese Mythology, interestingly enough the Moon spirit is the Osmanthus Tree instead of being an actual animal. In many fictional settings the Golden Crow, Vermillion Bird and Phoenix are some of the most powerful Fire elemental aspected creatures in their respective stories. If all three show up in the same story, they may have conflicts between themselves, but this isn’t always the case.

The Qilin: The Qilin, or Kirin in Japanese, is a Dragon that looks like a horse or deer. Often a sign of the arrival or passing of a Sage or Illustrious Ruler, the Qilin is often among the most powerful mythological creatures along with the Dragon and Phoenix. Often attributed with the elements of Fire or Lightning, it occasionally is aspected as Light as well.

Jiangshi: The Chinese version of the zombie, Jiangshi are not the slow witted, lumbering brain eating creatures that we see in Western cultures. Jiangshi are often very quick, and can jump or hop incredible distances. They also tend to be greenish white in skin coloration and can range from nondescript to horrifying in appearance. Jiangshi aren’t beaten with shotguns, often they require complete dismemberment or require being sealed by a Daoist priest or spellcaster. Fire works as well, or peach tree wood formed into a weapon, like a sword.

That’s it for this week’s Translation Necessary Thursday!

TNT: Zhan Long Chapters 81-120 by Shi Luo Ye

This week I’m back with the third batch of chapters for Zhan Long! It’s Zhan Long Chapters 81-120 by Shi Luo Ye!

Plot Synopsis: After gaining the Secret Class of Scavenger of Dragon City, Li Xiao Yao quickly rose to fame and infamy. He quickly became the top alchemist of Ba Huang City. After getting ganked a few times by the Generals and Jiang Fen Han they came to an agreement to fight together to get a Guild Creation tablet for Jiang Fen Han’s guild Vanguard. Li Xiao Yao got ready and set off to do battle with a large BOSS.

Plot: The plot of this set of chapters pretty much ramps up from the get go, and doesn’t let up for very long if at all. Which is pretty nice. We also get to see more of the world of <Destiny> and what goes on when players have conflicts.

Characters: We also get to meet more of Xiao Yao’s real life friends including Old K, Fox and Little Wolf who formed the original Zhan Long guild from a previous game. We also get to interact more with the Generals who are a real riot.

Overall: A very satisfying set of chapters that has almost non-stop action and plenty of drama.