Anime & Manga News

Yen Press Buys Licenses for Sword Art Online, Accel World and Other Titles

by tsubasalover
Sep 29, 2013 5:42 PM | 65 Comments
At Japan Expo, Yen press officially announced that they had bought the licenses for Reki Kawahara's light novels Sword Art Online and Accel World.

Yen Press has asked Baka Tsuki to remove the fan translations of the novels when they publish the first volume in 2014. These new translated light novels however, will take some time (maybe years) until they catch up with their Japanese counterparts.

Other titles Yen Press bought include Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Different Story, Blood Lad, and two official Sword Art Online manga - Aincrad and Fairy Dance.

Source: Yen Press

Story by Shangetsu and QueenCythia

20 of 65 Comments Recent Comments

I hope some company ends up translating the Baccano LN's- probably Yen Press since they did the Durarara ones, unless I'm mistaken?

Anyways, I might check out Accel World.

Oct 2, 2013 3:45 PM by Selphie-

Amiluhur said:
I don't mind paying few bucks to read LNs that are actually being translated by professionals from legal publishing company. Because, TBH i often have a hard time reading most light novel fan translations. The intent of these translations often seems to be conveying the intent of the plot (i.e. so that everyone can understand "what happened"), but there's little apparent thought given to either the voice of the author or the voice of the characters. And this is my biggest problem with them, because most fan translators are not "authors"; they act more like "converters" (like hopefully-smarter versions of Google Translate)


I think this is spot on (not saying gorgeous fan translations don't exist). But I wouldn't discount the idea that there are people who prefer the plain, "converted" fan translations over the stylized stuff that some official translations end up being. Especially when a whole bunch of canon material gets altered to sync with the perceived sensibilities of the target audience.

And that's strange, comparing human translators to Google Translate. At the moment, machine translations are on an entirely different level of incomprehensibility.

Oct 2, 2013 6:48 AM by SaneSavantElla

stellarroze said:
The statement about Yen Press asking Baka-Tsuki to remove the fan-translations is not true.
Partially it is. They received a C&D order before for the other licensed series like Bungaku Shoujo and S&W.
It's been their policy ever since to take down anything that has been licensed in English. They took down Hidan no Aria almost immediately even without a C&D order.

Oct 2, 2013 5:00 AM by belatkuro

The statement about Yen Press asking Baka-Tsuki to remove the fan-translations is not true.

Oct 2, 2013 4:40 AM by stellarroze

I'll read the SAO and Accel World novels for sure, and maybe the manga.

Oct 1, 2013 9:15 AM by malvarez1

kuuderes_shadow said:
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Aincrad-Reki-Kawahara/9780316371247

^ I believe that is what you are looking for.


thanks I wasnt sure since no image is available.. but damn 203 days left o.O

guys dont despair there are other sites who still have this light novel available so .. ;) and otherwise you just buy them :P

Oct 1, 2013 8:41 AM by Gyarutsundere

Fuck....just fuck....gonna cry in a corner now....

Oct 1, 2013 7:47 AM by wopwopwopwop

ROOMA4HELL said:
[. . .]Fan translations are not all that accurate either but if you find a good one they will generally leave anything that can not be directly translated and explain it in a translation note. This is something I think should be used at all times when translating from another language over altering it to fit another language/culture. But a lot of official companies like to just change the dialog and even elements of the stories at times to better fit without having to use notes explaining the original, this is true in anime, manga, and light novels [. . .]

Localization is an art more than it is a science, and a translator has to be a good writer in order to do a really good job. A good editor is also going to make a difference. Fan works (and a lot of professional works) aren't going to get that much quality devoted to them, so it's pretty much an unsolvable conundrum. Add the numerous differences between Japanese and English both linguistically and culturally, and it's no wonder that most translations contend themselves with being just adequate.

Oct 1, 2013 7:32 AM by Amiluhur

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Aincrad-Reki-Kawahara/9780316371247

^ I believe that is what you are looking for.

Oct 1, 2013 7:26 AM by kuuderes_shadow

Aah so thats why i couldnt continue

Well i managed to find it elsewhere..
On wattpad.com so if anyone wants to read it..

I try to read as quick as possible before they find out about this site too

I will buy the light novels if i didnt read this through baka-tsuki..

Quite silly to read the same again so.l

kuuderes_shadow said:
Antanaru said:
And because of these assholes I'll never know the ending to SAO. Sigh, can't B-T just block USA IP's...


Or you could... you know... not be an "asshole" and buy them yourself?

iamdarrenearl said:
So, does it mean their translated light novels will be released world wide??? because right now i don't see any of them available in our bookstores..


Bookdepository ships to the Philippines for free.


Cant find it n bookdepository tho.. But maybe i overlooked it


Mod Edit
Post merged. Please do not double post.

Oct 1, 2013 7:22 AM by Gyarutsundere

when will the first volume of sao ln be released in english?

Oct 1, 2013 5:19 AM by aboe

Nice to see support, but I have a heavy dislike for american companies in general that touch and alter Japanese works while translating to make it fit the culture better. Makes me feel like something I love was violated by another person then handed back to me, sheer thoughts of what might be changed leaves me concerned. Fan translations are not all that accurate either but if you find a good one they will generally leave anything that can not be directly translated and explain it in a translation note. This is something I think should be used at all times when translating from another language over altering it to fit another language/culture. But a lot of official companies like to just change the dialog and even elements of the stories at times to better fit without having to use notes explaining the original, this is true in anime, manga, and light novels. Yen press might be one of the better ones but I still worry about what will be changed along the way while translating.

Oct 1, 2013 5:08 AM by ROOMA4HELL

iamdarrenearl said:
So, does it mean their translated light novels will be released world wide??? because right now i don't see any of them available in our bookstores..

Manga and novels published in the US do get exported overseas. For example, in Malaysia both Borders and Kinokuniya carry US-licensed manga and light novels.

Sep 30, 2013 10:38 PM by arsonal

NanoZero said:
iamdarrenearl said:
So, does it mean their translated light novels will be released world wide??? because right now i don't see any of them available in our bookstores..

They might digitally release it as well.


It's very unlikely, I can't remember Yen Press having done that with anything they own.

Shuhan said:
CreationBreaker said:

Shuhan said:
Kyoukaisenjou no Horizon needs to get licensed.
Will never happen though

;-;


Horizon getting licensed. Haha...
Have you seen how big those books are?


I know :(
The author is a beast.


It's not related to the number of page per book but rather that most work having a good deal of ecchi stuff in it are very likely not to leave Japan (or at least will not reach America).
The answer to that is because these are work that people might have a good deal of prejudice against them. Company like Yen press care about their image as much as they do about profit. Releasing Horizon would be a bad idea since the market would be low and most people wouldn't be tempted to try it either.

YukinoAsakura said:
I wonder if Yen Press will (soemday) license all Madoka-related material like Nitro+ novel and Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica: Anthology!


It is possible. They bought a few license already to test the water and if it actually sell well they will probably consider buying other Madoka related work.

iamdarrenearl said:
So, does it mean their translated light novels will be released world wide??? because right now i don't see any of them available in our bookstores..


I wouldn't say that it will be released worldwide but it'd be possible to buy them online from pretty much any developed country that do not have a problem with it (yes I'm looking at you Korea),

Antanaru said:
And because of these assholes I'll never know the ending to SAO. Sigh, can't B-T just block USA IP's...


You've been reading a series that the author poured his sweat and time into writting it for free until now, if you can't be appreciative and buy the released version then you actually deserve not to know the ending ever.

Other than that, Kuudere pretty much covered everything else.

Sep 30, 2013 2:55 PM by Alycen

No Shinsekai Yori yet :(

Sep 30, 2013 2:43 PM by Mayuka

Well, at least there's one thing interesting here.

Looking at you, Different Story. I'll be buying that on release.

Sep 30, 2013 2:25 PM by Seasonreaper

CreationBreaker said:
wakka9ca said:

Imagine To Aru Majutsu no Index suddenly gets picked up by Yen Press. *shudders*

That would be crazy. But like belatkuro said, it's so long a series with so many side stories that it's too much of a risk for ANYONE who wants to localize it. Remember what happened to Shakugan no Shana. While I, personally, would buy it, I doubt that publication of the series would last more than 6 volumes in the US before it stops for To Aru.

With regards to SAO and AW...I lost interest in those a long time ago.

Shuhan said:
Kyoukaisenjou no Horizon needs to get licensed.
Will never happen though

;-;


Horizon getting licensed. Haha...
Have you seen how big those books are?


I know :(
The author is a beast.

Sep 30, 2013 12:50 PM by Shuhan

I wonder if Yen Press will (soemday) license all Madoka-related material like Nitro+ novel and Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica: Anthology!

Sep 30, 2013 11:23 AM by YukinoAsakura

I wanted to at least finish the Alicization arc :-(. Well whatever
B-T lost a big shareholder
INDEX getting licensed? I doubt that is possible. That will be the end of earth
happy for the AW though :-D

Sep 30, 2013 11:18 AM by Himel_713

reallybigshrimp said:
its not like there is any certainty that the entire series will get translated and in that case i'll end up with a incomplete set of books and if there is one thing i hate its buying into a series and not being able to finnish it.


Have Yen Press ever failed to complete something they started? Because I can't think of any time they've done that (excluding not releasing spin offs/side stories which they probably never wanted in the first place). And they're part of one of the largest and most successful publishing companies in the world (particularly with regards to modern fiction), so I think it's fairly unlikely that they would stop as a result of going out of business. Personally, I have about as much confidence as is realistically possible that they will release the whole series.

I'd love to see japanese LN's more in the western market but for me personally i don't see why they don't follow newer stuff


Because there isn't enough demand for it - people don't know about that stuff for the most part. SAO/AW probably weren't viable before last year's anime release either. Yes, they can then aim it out at new fans, but the majority of the market comes from the people who saw the anime and want to own the books.
So "newer" comes to mean "things that got hugely popular anime adaptations faster". Then again, stuff like OreGairu wasn't anywhere near as successful as SAO/AW, and even that isn't exactly short. Plus SAO/AW also has the advantage of both being by the same author and even sort of in the same universe - so people who read one series will most likely look into the other. It's the perfect opportunity for them, really.

or on the flip side publish stuff that has already finnished in japan rather than following a series that is at best 3/4 complete and can't guarente a full translation into english because they don't know wether they will profit from translating them into english or not.


It's been done before - most of what Seven Seas licensed back when they were getting LNs were short finished series. The problem there is that they are often less popular, anime adaptations tend to cover more of the series so people don't buy to find out what happens next (assuming that there is a recent adaptation when it is licensed - if there isn't then the series will likely have lost most of its popularity, if it ever had it to begin with) and if people have already completed a series from fan translations then they are a lot less likely to buy the books as well.

Sep 30, 2013 10:35 AM by kuuderes_shadow

It’s time to ditch the text file.
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