Ask John: Why is the Viz Translation of Naruto so Liberal?

Question:
The Naruto manga is my favorite manga series, as well as the anime. I have read, and am still reading, fan translations from fan sites, and recieving the anime translated from a friend of mine. However, I’m annoyed how Viz is translating the series, changing the names of the techniques, and translating them incorrectly, such as Kage Bunshin no-jutsu, becoming “Doppledanger.” Why do you suppose they are translating the way they are, and what is your opinion of their translations?

Answer:
Hardcore fans that are devoted enough to seek out underground translations of the Naruto manga and anime are more likely to be concerned with literal translations and faithfulness to the original Japanese dialogue than mainstream fans. However, as a major publishing and entertainment company, Viz isn’t primarily concerned with hardcore fans. Viz is marketing Naruto to the widest possible mainstream American audience, naturally, in order to accumulate the greatest possible profit. For mainstream American consumers that are probably not familiar with or used to Japanese culture, a ninja technique like “Doppleganger” is much easier to comprehend than the difficult to pronounce, foreign sounding “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.” Viz’s priority is to make the Naruto manga as accessible and appealing as possible to the largest number of English speaking consumers; to make it as American as possible without entirely discarding the distinct origin of the work. Ultimately, Viz is a business that’s more concerned with profiting from hundreds of thousands, or maybe even a million, mainstream consumers than pleasing a few thousand hardcore American fans.

In order to exhibit some degree of consideration, I’ll only explain my personal reaction to the Viz translation of the Naruto manga by saying that I was one of the earliest annual subscribers to Shonen Jump USA Magazine. I was eager to support the American publication of a Japanese magazine and submitted my subscription request well before the first American issue was ever published and released. However, when my inaugural year subscription expired, I intentionally refused to renew my subscription.