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News Site Chastises Those Critical of Unfaithful “Localizations”

Rice Digital, a so-called news site dedicated to games and visual novels, wrote up the usual article typical of the modern era that chastises fans for daring to desire translations that are actually accurate and faithful to the source material, instead of completely irrelevant political ones meant to push an agenda or ideology.

The article ignorantly resorted to making insults towards those in opposition to their stance, as indicated by the title: “Stop being an asshole to translators”.

The writer of the article discussed the situation with former eroge developer Laplacian, where they decided to not release the R18 version of Cyanotype Daydream and opted for an all-ages release instead, as the studio was shifting to that such content.

The developer also willingly self-censored by swapping out a seifuku for a dress and aging up the characters so they could release on Steam, frustrating those who wanted to play the game the way it was originally meant to be played (and making critics question why they didn’t merely release the R18 version before then shifting to all-ages products).

The writer also neglected to mention that the developer ridiculed those wanting to play the original R18 game and for criticizing their decision.

The article writer continued to slander those who criticize unfaithful localizations:

The sad thing is, though, this isn’t an irregular occurrence at all in the world of localised games. On a seemingly daily basis, people who localise Japanese media — be it manga, anime or video games — are harassed by a small but very loud minority of individuals online, and, to be quite frank, it concerns me for the future of our favourite hobbies.

As pointed out by a number of genuine fans who are aware of the politicization of the Western entertainment industry, there have been countless instances of anime and content being unfaithfully translated to include dialogue not originally said or to specifically push an agenda.

A handy video full of various examples of “localizations”, as compiled by one dedicated individual (such instances and many more have also been covered by Sankaku Complex over the years):

Perhaps an accurate description of the article and its intent:

Remarks from other critics in response to Rice Digital’s tweet:

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