Thinking about quitting as fan translator
I think I’m not the only translator who has thought about quitting translating, drawing, or doing similar creative things for their fandom. I hope to get advice from mutuals because I genuinely love it and don’t want to give up. But I’m at a loss—frustration has built up and runs deep.
I’ve been translating from Japanese into German for almost seven years now. Most of my work has focused on a single fandom—just like many of my mutuals. For me, it’s been the HoneyWorks fandom. I started because there were barely any translations available at the time. Back then, there were more cover singers who sang Vocaloid songs translated into German. Nowadays, their numbers have dwindled, and they focus more on global trends like anime openings or viral Japanese songs. The reasons likely have something to do with copyright issues, but I don’t want to delve too deeply into that.
I started translating simply because I wanted to bring songs I loved and the stories of their characters into German. Back then, I knew English from school, but I had two friends who relied on German translations. Initially, I didn’t put much effort into translating directly from Japanese—I just took my favorite English translations and converted them into German, always giving credit and sharing them privately as text messages. One friend, however, found it difficult to engage with the songs as just text, so I used Windows Movie Maker to slap the text onto a super low-quality video. That was my first video translation.
And I found joy in it—watching the videos with the text, making my friends happy, enjoying the stories with them, and having someone to discuss the meanings of the songs with—it was so much fun!
Eventually, I started trying to translate new songs directly from Japanese. With just a dictionary and a lot of trial and error, I asked questions and learned a lot of Japanese in the process. I enjoyed it even more, especially after I began uploading my translations to YouTube since they were now my own work. I was so proud of my first videos, even though their quality—thanks to Windows Movie Maker—was awful.
At some point, I wanted my videos not only to be translated but also to look good. So, I started spending money on subscriptions for video editing programs and learned how to use them. I translated songs that didn’t have official videos, which was a challenge in itself—understanding and interpreting the meaning. Japanese can be so tricky. My native language assigns a gender to every single noun, but Japanese operates in complete neutrality, often without pronouns. Figuring out the context was incredibly hard without a video. Today, I believe I understand how Gom and shito approach certain texts, and I think I’ve become pretty good at it.
I moved from creating videos that simply displayed an image of the characters with Japanese, romaji, and German subtitles beneath the text to crafting my own videos for songs without official ones. After all, I had the tools now, and the money spent on the programs needed to pay off.
I also built a community on Discord, where I shared background info, novels, manga, and summaries of the anime films. I’d hold raffles for merchandise I bought, sending it to people at Christmas or Easter. These raffles always included riddles about the fandom. Back then, the server was lively.
Now, onto the part that discourages me.
I often get comments like, “I listened to it even though there’s already an English translation,” or, “Nice that you translated it, but who’s going to listen when there’s already an English cover by Jubyphonic or Jefferz?” Comments thanking me or discussing the song have been replaced by comparisons to other creators. I never wanted a competition or a war, but viewers compare—no matter how small or large the creator. I tried to release translations faster than English creators so people would still watch my videos, which only led to stress, overwork, and more mistakes.
In the past, I’d transform Japanese metaphors into German ones with equivalent meanings, and I’d translate idioms fluently and clearly. I even translated “Kokuhaku Yokou Renshuu” as a ballad that rhymed while keeping its meaning intact. Now, I rush through translations as quickly as possible, focusing on good visual quality in the hope that more than four people will watch. Despite having around 600 subscribers, I can never catch up because of the time zone difference. When videos are released at 8 PM in Japan, it’s noon for me. I work for five more hours, get home by 6 or 7 at the earliest, and by then, everyone else worldwide has already been faster.
I’ve translated manga, novels, LIPxLIP radio shows, and newspaper articles. I’ve purchased all these resources and invested so much time... But I find myself asking, for whom? Just to get a heart emoji on Discord?
Long-time followers on my server even seem to forget when I’ve translated something. When they share songs or translations, they usually link to English sources—videos from people who’ve used translations by fan translators here on Tumblr. These people often get the credit, even though all they’ve done is time the text to appear and disappear in a video.
Once, I translated an FT4 song that didn’t have a video. The song wasn’t available online, and the lyrics couldn’t be found anywhere, so no translation existed. It was my first English translation, done with some help—“To Family.” Even though it became my most popular translation on Tumblr and was used in numerous videos once the song got a video, I wasn’t credited. Instead, my mutuals who reposted it were. I’m afraid that if you’re not popular, you just fade into obscurity.
I once clarified under a translation that it was mine and that I’d like to be credited. At the time, the video already had over 1,000 views—a lot for me. They apologized, but in the end, the credit was completely erased. Neither my friend, who had reposted my translation, nor I were mentioned. The credits were just deleted and claimed by someone else.
Even on the server where I shared, translated, and gave away so much, I’ve been overshadowed. People share and start discussing songs in English… It hurts and frustrates me.
I’ve never stopped translating in the seven years I’ve been doing this, and I understand that English is a global language—it’s easier to use it to communicate. But I can’t translate into English as well as I can into my native language. My mutuals here are amazing at it, and I don’t want to compete with them. On top of that, there are the false credits for the one English translation I’ve ever done.
Uploading translations as videos on YouTube comes with its own challenges: Most HoneyWorks videos are okay to reupload if you add translations. The ad revenue then goes to Sony Music, HoneyWorks’ publisher. However, Sony Music and HoneyWorks can take down a video at any time.
After CHiCO left the group to pursue a solo career, there were likely new contractual agreements. All CHiCO translations were taken down in one day and blocked—but not for every account. Some English translations are still online, perhaps because the uploaders live in countries where different rules apply? I don’t know.
When over 20 videos were suddenly deleted, my channel was restricted by YouTube in the spring/summer. This means I can no longer pin comments with translation info, post community updates, or even select thumbnails for Shorts. Sometimes my own comments under my videos are invisible to others. So, sharing info like I used to is no longer possible. Only I can see it.
Follower counts are dropping, the sense of community is almost gone, and the motivation and purpose for doing this… are essentially gone too.
The only thing keeping me going is my hope to rebuild a community for the German fanbase. But when, like today, close friends—or so I thought—share info or videos from others who make questionable changes to translations (e.g., swapping out phrases like “I hate you” for “I love you” in HoneyWorks "Wolf" to suit their shipping narratives and passing off these fake translations as legitimate), I just feel like giving up... people just don't care if a translation is good or not, if its in their native or not - the just want to read what sound good? I speak for the people who just copy the translation from tumblr and making chances while editing it into a video. Most of them credit the official translator right - some don't - and all of them don't mention which parts are swapped out by them. They just mention that the "updated" it. (Also if mutuals want to know when their translation got swapped out like that - lemme know. If I see something again, I'll let you know then!) I dont want to give up. I want to stay as translator. I just want ... a little thank you. Reactions that show me, for whom I translate. And a little bit credit for the work. So I'm sorry for the whimming. If somebody want to talk about it or give me advice - feel free to! I can also work with harsh critic. So feel free!
