Rolling in CLOVER
May. 17th, 2009 01:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustNormally I never buy manga I already own in another edition.
But the new CLOVER omnibus published by Dark Horse was just too pretty to resist.
Years ago, Tokyopop published CLOVER in English. I already had the whole series in Chinese, so I only picked up the first Tokyopop volume out of curiosity.
It was a disappointing experience. Although Tokyopop did reproduce the translucent dustjacket and colour illustrations, the translation was sometimes awkward, the text was in an unattractive serif font, and the artwork was flipped so the pages read left to right - remember those days? - which had odd results since one character had an artificial hand.
I wish I still had it for comparison, but I ended up donating it to the library. I didn't even know that edition had gone out of print.
Anyway, Dark Horse has done a fine job with this omnibus. The paper is good quality stock, the images are crisp, the font is standard, and the artwork has been kept in its original orientation. And I've only browsed it so far, but the translation seems for the most part to be smooth and accurate. (I have nitpicks about a few names, but I suppose romanisation is a judgment call.)
But the real lure is in the colour illustrations: not only the cover art and splash pages are included, but also a bonus gallery of seventeen gorgeous images, most likely sourced from CLAMP's various artbooks.
If you've never read CLOVER before, this is a beautiful way to start.
Spoilerish nitpicking ahead. There is one scene whose translation bugs me. This is in Volume Four.
Ran stares out the window at the city, lost and alone, and says to Gingetsu, "There are so many lights, but none of them are burning for me. And they never will." At the end of the story, Gingetsu, who has now made Ran a place in his home, gives him a lamp and says, "If there is no light that burns for you, then light one yourself."
Whereas the Dark Horse translation is: "The lights are pretty, but they're not for me. Not ever." and "If it's dark, you can always turn the light on."
"If it's dark"?!! Way to miss the point.
(Especially compared with Kristin's lovely fan translation of this volume: "I was just thinking, even though there are so many lights out there, none of them are shining for my sake. None of them ever will." and "If you don't have a light of your own, light one for yourself.")
But the new CLOVER omnibus published by Dark Horse was just too pretty to resist.
Years ago, Tokyopop published CLOVER in English. I already had the whole series in Chinese, so I only picked up the first Tokyopop volume out of curiosity.
It was a disappointing experience. Although Tokyopop did reproduce the translucent dustjacket and colour illustrations, the translation was sometimes awkward, the text was in an unattractive serif font, and the artwork was flipped so the pages read left to right - remember those days? - which had odd results since one character had an artificial hand.
I wish I still had it for comparison, but I ended up donating it to the library. I didn't even know that edition had gone out of print.
Anyway, Dark Horse has done a fine job with this omnibus. The paper is good quality stock, the images are crisp, the font is standard, and the artwork has been kept in its original orientation. And I've only browsed it so far, but the translation seems for the most part to be smooth and accurate. (I have nitpicks about a few names, but I suppose romanisation is a judgment call.)
But the real lure is in the colour illustrations: not only the cover art and splash pages are included, but also a bonus gallery of seventeen gorgeous images, most likely sourced from CLAMP's various artbooks.
If you've never read CLOVER before, this is a beautiful way to start.
Spoilerish nitpicking ahead. There is one scene whose translation bugs me. This is in Volume Four.
Ran stares out the window at the city, lost and alone, and says to Gingetsu, "There are so many lights, but none of them are burning for me. And they never will." At the end of the story, Gingetsu, who has now made Ran a place in his home, gives him a lamp and says, "If there is no light that burns for you, then light one yourself."
Whereas the Dark Horse translation is: "The lights are pretty, but they're not for me. Not ever." and "If it's dark, you can always turn the light on."
"If it's dark"?!! Way to miss the point.
(Especially compared with Kristin's lovely fan translation of this volume: "I was just thinking, even though there are so many lights out there, none of them are shining for my sake. None of them ever will." and "If you don't have a light of your own, light one for yourself.")
