Megami Ibunroku Persona: Shadow Maze - English translation of the official P1 novel is done!
Some of you may not know me, but I’m the guy who translated the Persona 1 manga. And today I present to you Megami Ibunroku Persona: Shadow Maze, the official Persona 1 novelization!
God, I’ve been working on this translation for so long, it’s good to be done already. It took me almost six years, but in my defense it wasn’t like the translation was the only thing I’ve done during this entire time. I swear there was a point where I must’ve gone two years without touching it. Regardless, it’s done.
So… English is not my first language. I like to believe that my English is very good, but chances are there are some small stuff here and there that sound stiff or not quite natural. I went through the text multiple times to fix stuff, but I don’t have an editor. If you come across a composition that isn’t quite right, please tell me. I may release an updated version if there’s a non-insignificant number of changes to be made.
Megami Ibunroku Persona: Shadow Maze is an official Persona 1 novel, published in 1997 by Aspect Novels, written by Naoko Korekata.
Q. Cool, what is the novel about?
It tells the story from the first Persona game, but Maki is the protagonist and the novel is written in first person.
Q. Wait, what about the regular protagonist? Does he not exist in the novel?
He’s still around, he just isn’t the protagonist anymore.
The game protagonist. The Western fandom got used to calling him Naoya thanks to the manga, but just like Minato/Makoto, Souji/Yu and Akira/Ren, the P1 protagonist has multiple names in different adaptations.
Q. Can I read this without any knowledge of the game?
Sadly, no. While it technically tells the story of the entire game, it glosses over a lot of stuff.
That being said, you don’t need to have played the game. Reading the manga also works! (Please read the P1 manga)
Q. So, have you got any Persona or Megami Tensei translations in the works?
Not really. Someone at the Megami Tensei Wiki was kind enough to share the Jin novels, and if no translator has picked them up yet, I can do it. If I do, I’ll try releasing the chapters as I finish them, rather than waiting until I’ve finished the entire novel.
Q. Where else can I find you?
Here on Tumblr, and on Twitter too. I haven’t been very active on either of those platforms recently, though. I’m trying to change that.
Q. *slams hands on desk* Where’s the book?
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