An easy-to-read, enjoyable translation. I appreciated that Aletha and Athena took the time and trouble to provide translation notes for the numerous uniquely Japanese phrases and concepts in this story to give the reader context for what's happening in this whimsical, slightly supernatural tale. For example, they explained what a "hato sable" is instead of just calling it a "dove cookie", what fishcakes and manju are for readers who may not be familiar with Japanese food, and what is "Tale of the Heike" too. Also helpful that they explained things like what the western equivalents are, for example, size 7 in Japan = size 2 in US, what tsubo is in feet, etc. Some of the sound effect choices were a little odd, but overall, a fun read that captured the spirit and intent of the original work without compromising conversational, readable text.

Consistent characterization and wise choices for the voices in this entry are what made it stand out. Although I normally dislike the use of Shakespearian language in a translation, it works extremely well here as the voice for the “trickster” spirits that fool the main character into handing over her treats. Athena and Alethea resisted the urge to “localize” the place names and creature names, which is correct for this manga as the Kamakura setting is a major point of the series. And Japanese place names and creature names are appropriate for the setting. This is a good demonstration of how a professional translates a manga.

This was a particularly difficult translation, both in terms of text density and the content, which required an understanding of Japanese folklore. The Nibleys turned in one of what I felt was the few “slam dunk” translations of the competition. They captured the nuances of Kamakura Monogatari perfectly, from the yokai names to the little out-of-the-dialog-balloon asides (so often ignored or mistranslated by many aspiring translators) to the whimsical tone of the manga. But what really sealed it for me was their use of characterization - employing different voices for different characters. It seems so obvious, but it’s one of the hardest aspects of manga translation to nail, and their use of faux-Shakesperean dialogue for the ghost warriors was a textbook case of what localizers should aim for in their work.

Dealing with antiquated speech in translation is tricky, and requires even more compromise and creativity than does “standard” contemporary speech. The fact that the work itself more than 30 years old adds another layer of obstacles and opportunities. Finally, this work is one of the longest of the four, and conveys more culturally and historically specific information than any of the others. In short, it’s a challenge. The Nibley twins met the challenge better than any of the other translators. They strike the right balance, making the piece readable while preserving its (arguably corny) charm. It was hard to pick the best of these four best translations. Truth be told, each judge seemed to be leaning to a different entrant. Only after going over the minutia exhaustively were we able to settle on the winner. What it came down to was hard work―not our hard work, but that of the Nibley sisters. They put the work into researching the geographic and historical details, conveying them without distracting the reader, handling the archaic language in a manner that works well for the piece, and giving a new―English―life to these sweet Japanese characters.

An overall clean, relatively clear and easy to follow translation. The detective's dialogue is clear and has a good mix of police terminology, a bit of slang, and enough clarity so I can follow what's going on in the story, especially in the detailed explanations of the crime scene and the killer's actions. It was interesting to compare the three finalists for Museum because they all took very different approaches to this gritty, violent police drama. Hayley's entry squarely hit the middle ground between literal translation and taking conversational liberties / going for contemporary choices that sound more casual / lively. While it lacks some of the more pizazz that would come including more contemporary slang and cursing, but Hayley's translation works well in that it's probably closest in tone to the original without being too stiff and literal.

Although choosing among the finalists was tough for all of this year’s entries, Museum’s competition was extremely high-level and difficult to determine a winner. But I was impressed by Hayley’s use of police procedural dialog by the main character’s boss, and how that characterization contrasted with Sawamura’s (the main character’s) more laid-back, casual characterization. The mood that Hayley’s dialog presented was right for every scene, and I also felt that Hayley’s choice of wording on the murderer’s notes conveyed the intent of the notes best of all the entries. Congratulations to Hayley beating out a tough field!

This was an often stomach-churning manga and hats off to those intrepid translators who decided to attempt it. Hayley did an excellent job with the different voices, particularly in the early pages where dialog flows without visual context. All of the entries were well done but what made me pick Hayley was her willingness to go beyond the standard translation from time to time, such as rendering the cop’s disgusted ひでぇ, which means literally gross/terrible, as “Jesus.” Yes, it adds content that isn’t in the original, but it also is very much in keeping with what a westerner would say in that kind of situation, which is what localization is all about. Little cultural tweaks like that are what separate the great localizations from good ones.

The winner of this title was hard to decide. There were several solid translations, but Hayley won out with the smoothest, most natural of the batch. If you didn’t notice when you read her translation, that’s good, because the best translation is the invisible one that makes you forget you’re reading a translation. Only wonks like me should notice.

A pretty solid effort -- Jennifer made fewer errors than her competitors, and made more good choices of conversational phrases here than missteps, although there were a few that took me out of the flow of the story. For example, out of the three finalists for Nichijou, Jennifer probably made the most appropriate/natural choice of phrase for the mother's retort, "If you fail your exams, I'll kill you." She also managed to retain the light, humorous tone of the story, which made for a fun, entertaining read.

Comedy is tough, but Jennifer handled it well. What put Jennifer’s entry over the top for me was how deftly she crafted the dialog to explain points of otaku culture and Japanese culture in order to clue the western audience in on the joke. I was also impressed with how the vocabulary-word poem was handed, and I especially liked the “raining in my heart” final dialog. The winner for Nichijo was a tough decision with very strong competition, so I congratulate Jennifer on a very strong, winning performance.

This was by far the most popular manga for entrants, but ironically it’s one of the more difficult to score, as it’s shorter and less dense than some of the other ones. There was some hot competition: some entrants handled things like sound effects (always a tricky task for translators) better, others handled the dialog better. And a great number of applicants tripped up on the 寝ながらしたよ！ (“nenagara shita yo!) line in the early pages, which isn’t studying “while sleeping” but rather studying “while laying down.” That said, Jennifer really nailed the key “buddha scene” at the end. This is a tricky thing to translate: the visuals lock the translator in to using Buddhist terms and imagery. But Jennifer handled it with aplomb, making it funny even for those who might not be familiar with the religious specifics.

Comedy is the hardest thing to translate well. A joke makes you laugh because of the instantaneous realization of what is odd. The writer relies on the knowledge of the reader to keep the joke from becoming ponderously explanatory. You can see how linguistic and cultural barriers can easily kill a joke. Jennifer goes the extra mile here, for example turning the stories absurd poems into actual rhyming poems that “work.”

I liked that Casey took the time to carefully choose the words that the Devil spoke, to convey that he's very calm, smug and a bit regal. Compared to how Nobara, the not-so-ordinary Japanese teenage girl speaks, the Devil speaks more formally, which is an appropriate contrast between the two characters. He also talks in more 'demon' appropriate terms like ""corporeal form""
One thing I wasn't totally comfortable with was how much Nobara cursed -- for example, ""What if I told you to screw off?"" and ""Grandpa was the only one who gave a crap about me."" It was ok, but felt a little unnecessary.

The two characters as Casey characterized them, the girl as feisty and slightly comical, the demon as aloof and somewhat evil, was perfect for the series. The two personalities played well off of each other making for a fun read. I especially liked the over-the-top, “I cast thee out,” line. I also liked how the information about the bible being left behind was added in an aside rather than being a part of the main dialog. But the chemistry between the main characters makes or breaks the book, and Casey’s translation gave the two some great chemistry.

One of the most interesting things about this manga is how open to interpretation many of the concepts are. Is 悪魔 demon, or devil, or something else? Is のみ込む to be swallowed, consumed, or engulfed? Each translator chose their own path, and each has its own pluses and minuses. On the whole I felt Casey characterized the world-weary demon well, and I felt hers was a solid all-around translation in general.

The biggest challenge in this piece is voice. The protagonist speaks pretty much like any high school girl, while the demon’s speech is somewhat more refined, and includes words and phrases not used in ordinary conversation. Most of the contestants failed to create consistent and convincing voices for these two characters, but Casey really nails it. (Advice to the others: Read your translations out loud, as if you’re an actor, and ask yourself if they sound natural.)